The United States is one of the biggest consumers of electricity worldwide and typically produces more than four thousand terawatt-hours of electric power every year. Electricity can be generated by numerous sources, but the majority of
comes from burning fossil fuels like natural gas, which emits large volumes of planet-warming greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere. The U.S. power industry is the second biggest contributor to
, behind only China.
U.S. power sector emissions trends
Roughly a quarter of U.S. GHG emissions come from electricity generation, making the sector the country’s second-
largest source of emissions. In 2022, U.S. power sector CO₂ emissions totaled 1.54 billion metric tons (GtCO₂) - a decrease of 0.8 percent from 2021.
Electric power-related CO₂ emissions in the U.S. have mostly been on a downward trajectory over the last two decades and were almost 40 percent below 2005 levels in 2022. The U.S. electric power system has seen significant transformations in recent decades that have helped achieve these emissions reductions, such as the increased deployment of renewable and clean energy sources, improved
energy efficiency programs, as well as stricter environmental policies. However, one of the key factors in reducing power sector emissions has been the shift away from coal, which has cut
coal-fired electricity emissions by almost 60 percent since 2005.
Decarbonizing the power sector
The U.S. has made good progress in
cutting electricity-related emissions in the last decades, even as gross generation has grown. However, there is still more to be done over the coming years to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius and mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. The U.S. has set an economy-wide target of reducing its net GHG emissions by 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and aims to achieve a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035. However, projections indicate that a
business-as-usual approach will not suffice to keep the U.S. on track to meet its goals. Among other policies and incentives, such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Biden administration has also proposed a new climate rule that, if approved, would require power plants to reduce GHG emissions by 90 percent between 2035 and 2040 - or face closure. However, the regulation is likely to face legal challenges, as was the case with the Obama-era Clean Power Plan.
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