The Obama administration points to U.S. carbon dioxide emissions to justify its new power plant regulations, but government data show the power sector’s CO2 emissions are the lowest they’ve been in nearly three decades.
The Energy Information Administration released data last week showing that the American power sector’s CO2 emissions are now at their lowest levels since 1988.
EIA credited the decline to the increased use of natural gas and renewable energy sources to generate electricity.
According to the energy industry, that does not tell the full story. Considering the larger American population compared to 30 years ago, and Americans’ increasing energy use since then, the emissions decline is even more pronounced, they say.
"Today, the U.S. has 319 million energy consumers. That’s 30 percent more people than the 245 million the U.S. had in 1988, Meanwhile the United States’ GDP today is roughly twice what it was 27 years ago," wrote Ken Cohen, vice president of communications for Exxon Mobil, in a Monday blog post.
"The total amount of electricity generated in the U.S. is roughly 50 percent higher," yet emissions levels are at multi-decade lows, Cohen noted.