U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell 2.1 percent in 2019, report says

The United States saw a 2.1 percent decline in greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 — largely due to a decrease in coal consumption for power. But the U.S. has made little progress in limiting emissions elsewhere, according to a report by research company Rhodium Group.

Coal-fired power generation fell by 18 percent in 2019 — the largest year-on-year decline in U.S. history — reaching its lowest level since 1975. The majority of that decline is from the switch to natural gas and renewables, the report states.

Transportation emissions declined from last year by 0.3 percent, industrial emissions rose by 0.6 percent, emissions from buildings increased by 2.2 percent, and other emissions from sectors including agriculture and waste rose by 4.4 percent.

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"It's clear that U.S. decarbonization success is still largely limited to the 27 percent of net emissions that come from the power sector," the report states.

Emissions from 2019 fell 12 percent below that of 2005 — 5 percent shy of the goal set by the Copenhagen Accord for the end of 2020. The U.S. pledged a 26 to 28 percent reduction by 2025 in the Paris Agreement, which the Trump Administration is working to withdraw from. The U.S. accounts for 11 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, said Trevor Houser, co-author of the report, per The Washington Post.

It will take "large-scale fuel substitution" to make meaningful declines in emissions, not just efficiency efforts, the report says. It's still possible for the U.S. to meet emissions targets, the report notes, "but will require a significant change in federal policy — and pretty soon."