According to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA), carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States are the lowest they have been since 1992.
Along many highways in America’s heartland, large windmills can be found covering acres of land. Out west, solar initiatives are gaining increased attention. But overall, this has little impact on the CO2 situation in the country.
The leading reason for the drop in emissions is due to the energy market’s relatively recent shift from coal-burning power to natural gas.
Natural gas emissions are much lower in CO2 than the commonly burnt coal, which emits the highest amount of CO2 compared to its competition.
“I think the biggest challenge facing the coal industry is cheap, abundant, less carbon-intense natural gas,” said Kevin Massy, a Brookings Institution analyst, according to the Huffington Post.
A recent boom in domestic gas drilling has resulted in lowered natural gas prices. Over the past four years, gas prices have dropped from approximately $7.50 per unit to about $3 per unit. The drop has made natural gas much more appealing to burn than coal.
Additionally, the current White House administration has set a climate for coal plant closures with a plan to close one-sixth of all coal plants in the United States over the next eight years.
“There’s a very clear lesson here,” said climate expert Rodger Pielke Jr. of the University of Colorado, according to the Huffington Post. “What it shows is that if you make a cleaner energy source cheaper, you will displace dirtier sources.'’
Just seven years ago, about half of all energy produced in the United States was produced with coal. Today, the number is 34 percent, according to the EIA.
However, even though CO2 emissions are down in the United States, emissions are on the rise in countries where the coal industry is on the rise, like in China and India. As coal plants continue to close in the United States, the coal mining industry has been constant as the country continues to export coal to developing countries.
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