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US carbon emissions rose during Trump administration’s first three years: EPA
15 February 2021Karin Rives
US Environmental Protection Agency data show the country's
carbon emissions rose during President Donald Trump's first three
years in office, disproving claims by his administration that
emissions declined.
By 2019, increases in emissions from the transportation sector
and the oil and natural gas industry had largely offset reductions
from coal plant shutdowns and energy conservation gains in homes
and businesses, according to greenhouse gas inventory data released 12
February.
The US produced 6,577 million metric tons (MMt) of carbon
emissions in 2019, a 1.7 percent drop from 2018, when energy use
and emissions rose sharply because of an unusually hot summer and
cold winter, the draft report shows. But the country's total
emissions in 2019 were still 121 MMt above where they were in 2017
when President Donald Trump took office, marking the highest level
of carbon pollution the US generated in five years.
As recently as November, while crediting President Trump for
leaving the Paris Climate Agreement, then-EPA Administrator Andrew
Wheeler said that "we have done more to reduce our greenhouse gas
emissions over the past four years than our international
competitors who cling to the ceremonial and arbitrary agreement."
He also said a year ago that "based on preliminary data, we expect
next year's report to show that the long-term downward trend will
continue."
The lack of progress during the Trump years means the US fell
farther behind in the race to slow climate change, David Doniger, a
senior strategic director for the Natural Resources Defense
Council, said 12 February.
"The Trump administration's rollbacks and inaction increased
emissions and delayed the transition to cleaner energy sources,
wasting valuable time," he said.
Oil, gas carbon footprint expanding
Likewise, the oil and gas industry has been vocal about its
efforts to rein in emissions from drill sites, pipelines and
refineries—and yet the EPA report shows that both carbon
dioxide and methane emissions from the sector rose in 2019 as
production soared. Output of oil rose nearly 13% and gas production
nearly 10% that year, Energy Information Administration data
show.
Carbon dioxide emissions from "gas systems" jumped 3 MMt to 36.9
MMt in 2019, "due primarily to increases in the production segment,
where flaring emissions from associated gas flaring, tanks, and
miscellaneous production flaring have increased over time," the EPA
said. Between 2005 and 2019, carbon dioxide emissions from the
industry soared 46%.
Carbon dioxide emissions from "petroleum systems," meanwhile,
rose 18% in 2019 to 43.3 MMt.
And despite efforts by some industry players to plug leaks and
rein in methane emissions, those highly potent emissions also rose
nearly 4% to 156.6 MMt, said the report, "Draft US Inventory of
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2019." The oil
industry emitted 40.2 MMt of methane that year, also a 4%
increase.
That reverses a long-term trend of declining methane emissions
from oil and gas companies that the EPA said was achieved mainly
thanks to a decrease in leaks from pipelines and distribution
stations, and from a reduction in emissions from compressor
stations. The nearly 157 MMt of methane released by gas systems in
2019 was still 4.3% below what the industry emitted in 2005, when
production volumes were significantly smaller.
Methane has more than 80 times the warming effect of carbon
dioxide in the short term, which is why scientists say methane
releases must be reined in to stabilize Earth's climate. In 2019,
methane made up 10% total US emissions with gas systems the
second-largest source of such pollution after belching
livestock.
Matthew Todd, director of the American Petroleum Institute's
upstream program, said emissions rates have declined relative to
gas production and should be viewed in that context. He also noted
that a growing number of industry players are actively engaged in a
new campaign to cut emissions.
"There is more work to be done, including efforts to reduce
flaring, and that is what The Environmental Partnership's flare
management program is all about," Todd said 12 February. "With this
new initiative, companies large and small are taking action to
reduce flare volumes and increase monitoring."
The big challenge: transportation
The oil and gas sector accounts for a relatively small share of
the US' carbon footprint compared with the biggest challenge of
all: transportation. As the Biden administration seeks to implement
its ambitious climate change agenda, emissions from cars and trucks
are a top priority for a reason.
The US' largest source of carbon, pollution from mainly
passenger cars generated 1,843 MMt in 2019, a 2.7% year-on-year
increase. Emissions from cars and trucks have been rising steadily
over the past 30 years because of urban sprawl, low gasoline prices
and more people traveling, the EPA reported.
The Trump administration in 2020 rolled back fuel efficiency
standards developed under President Barack Obama for new passenger
vehicles for the model years 2017-2025 and replaced it with a
weaker standard. Biden ordered agencies on his first day in office
to review that rollback.
The EPA and Department of Transportation are widely expected to
propose a national fuel efficiency standard modeled after
California's ambitious emission programs. Most major carmakers now
support that plan.
While US fuel economy has improved since 1990, the number of
vehicle miles traveled increased 47% by 2019, offsetting such
gains, the EPA said. That means electric vehicles must be a major
part of any future plan to reduce emissions from the transportation
sector. EVs still make up only 2% of new car sales and cars on the
road.
The Biden administration has pledged to replace the US
government's fleet of 650,000 vehicles with electric models and to
offer tax credits to encourage more Americans to switch to EVs. How
fast that transition occurs will depend on how quickly the nation's
network of public charging stations develops; there are only about
110,000 so far, according to a recent report by IHS Markit.
The EPA's preliminary 2019 emissions data could still be revised
and is already more than a year old, while the 2020 data will
likely show a steep decline in carbon pollution because of the
economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.