U.S. greenhouse gas emissions rose sharply in 2021 as the economy recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and utility companies burned more coal, according to a new study by the Rhodium Group.
"Bold climate provisions like the ones in Build Back Better are desperately needed to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions," Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) tweeted on Jan. 10. "Time is not on our side. It’s time to pass Build Back Better."
The country's greenhouse emissions dropped more than 10% in 2020, The New York Times reported. President Joe Biden's goal is to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030.
However, the Build Back Better bill remains in limbo in Congress.
According to estimates by the Rhodium Group, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased 6.2% last year over 2020, which was slightly higher than growth in gross domestic product, which was 5.7% in 2021. It cited coal-fired power generation, which increased 17% from 2020, and increases in freight transportation, as the cause of the increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
"The transportation and electric power sectors experienced the steepest rise in emissions relative to 2020 — 10% and 6.6%, respectively—both claiming back about two-thirds of the drop from 2019 levels," Rhodium said.
Coal for power generations increased in 2021 primarily because of the increase in the price of natural gas, Rhodium said.
"High natural gas prices made gas-fired generation less economical in 2021, leading to a 3% decline in gas generation in 2021, dropping gas’s share of overall generation back down to 37%," the report said. "With only modest growth in overall electric power demand in 2021 (up 3% from 2020), the more robust growth in power sector greenhouse gas emissions was due to a sharp rise in coal generation, jumping 17% in 2021. This marks the first annual increase in coal generation since 2014, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
However, greenhouse gas emissions are still 5% lower than 2019 levels, according to the Rhodium Group.