Greenhouse Gas Emissions Increased Over Five Percent in 2021, EPA Draft Report Shows

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Harmful and climate-destabilizing greenhouse gas emissions increased by 5.5 percent in 2021, EPA announced today in the Agency’s draft Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks.

In a concerning step in the wrong direction, CO2 emissions from coal also increased 14.6 percent over 2020 levels, primarily due to pollution from the power sector and a rebound from the pandemic. Despite the increase, emissions have continued to slowly decline from a peak in 2007. This announcement follows the release of a recent report from Energy Innovation showing that 99 percent of coal plants in the U.S. are more expensive to run than to replace with renewable energy.

In response, Sierra Club Director of Climate Policy Patrick Drupp released the following statement:

“Today’s draft federal government report is a sobering reminder that while the U.S. and President Biden have made significant progress against deadly climate pollution, the job is far from finished. Last summer, we celebrated historic investments in our economy, our climate, and our future made possible through President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, but we still have a long way to go. Thankfully, there are many more tools in the president’s toolbox. The Biden Administration must use every option available to continue to protect our climate and public health, including equitable and just implementation of the IRA paired with stronger EPA standards limiting dangerous air and water pollutants.”