U.S. carbon emissions saw their biggest spike in eight years in 2018

U.S. carbon emissions increased in 2018 for the first time in three years, resulting in the largest yearly spike since 2010.

These statistics come from a new Rhodium Group estimate reported by The New York Times. The paper notes that the rise comes despite the fact that coal plants closed at the highest rate in three years. But industrial emissions — like those from steel and chemicals — saw a 5.7 percent rise in 2018, and the study estimates that by next year, these plants and factories will be California's second-biggest emissions source. There was also a rise in emissions from transportation and electricity in 2018, the study shows. Still, carbon dioxide emissions have fallen 11 percent since 2005, the Times reports.

An analyst for Rhodium Group connected the emissions spike with the booming economy, telling the Times that "the big takeaway for me is that we haven't yet successfully decoupled U.S. emissions growth from economic growth."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

There's also the fact that the Trump administration has been rolling back regulations put into place by former President Barack Obama to reduce carbon emissions. One partner at Rhodium Group told The Washington Post: "I don't think you would have seen the same increase" without the rollbacks from President Trump.

The prospect of the U.S. cutting its carbon emissions between 26 and 28 percent in the next six years, as was outlined in the 2015 Paris climate agreement that Trump has since said he will withdraw from, looks "nearly unattainable," the Times says.