U.S. carbon emissions dropped in 2023 for the first time since the pandemic, with the fall in emissions mainly concentrated in the power sector, according to a new report from BloombergNEF.
In its latest Sustainable Energy in America report released early Wednesday, the research organization reported that the United States emitted 6.2 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, a 1.8% drop from the year before, with emissions falling in almost every sector except transportation. The last time the U.S. has had emissions this low, besides 2020, was nearly four decades ago in 1987.
“If there was a post-Covid rebound, it appears to be over,” a summary of the report reads.
This reduction in emissions following the pandemic comes as the U.S. and other countries work toward lowering emissions in several sectors, though mainly in transportation and the power sector. During the pandemic, limitations on travel and economic activity reduced global emissions by almost 2 billion tons in 2020, with emissions in the U.S. falling by 10%. But as society began to reopen in the months following the peak of the pandemic, emissions began to bounce back. Since the pandemic, the federal government has spent billions on reducing emissions in the transportation sector through subsidies for electric vehicles while working to shift the power sector to renewable technologies.
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According to the report, the majority of emissions reductions stem from the power sector, with 83% of the net drop being seen there. The power sector has progressed to become the U.S.’s third-highest emitting sector, falling from the highest in 2016. The report attributes this change to coal being replaced by natural gas, as the latter releases less emissions than coal.
The report also outlines that U.S. emissions are more than 15% lower than 2005 levels, while emissions stemming from the power sector are 40% lower than levels from the same year.
