US energy-related emissions 12% down

The US saw a fall in its energy-related Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions last year. They were 12% below 2005 levels, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The fall was […]

The US saw a fall in its energy-related Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions last year.

They were 12% below 2005 levels, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The fall was mostly because of changes in the power sector as a result of a decrease in coal use and increased consumption of natural gas for electricity generation.

The EIA stated the reductions in CO2 emissions were spread out among the different end-use sectors in proportion to the share of total electricity sales to each sector.

Overall the fuel use changes in the power sector accounted for 68% of the total energy-related CO2 reductions from 2005 to 2015, it added.

Its report stated: “The amount of CO2 emissions in the primary (non-electricity) energy mix of end-use sectors has also changed. In the residential and commercial sectors, primary energy such as natural gas is used mainly for space heating, water heating, and cooking.

“In the industrial sector, many processes rely on the direct consumption of fossil fuels to produce heat. Most of the energy consumed in the transportation sector is primary energy in the form of motor gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel.”

Two of the largest factors in year-to-year fluctuations of energy-related CO2 emissions are the economy and weather, it added.

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