NPR

U.S. cut climate pollution in 2023, but not fast enough to limit global warming

Climate-warming greenhouse gasses in the U.S. declined 1.9% last year, but that's only a third of what's needed to meet Paris climate change goals.
The James H. Miller Jr. Electric Generating Plant in Adamsville, Alabama is a coal-fired facility. In 2023 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions declined 1.9% because less of the country's electricity came from plants like this one.

The United States reduced emissions of climate-warming greenhouse gasses last year, after two years in which emissions rose. But the decline wasn't enough to meet climate targets set by the Biden administration. That would require much steeper cuts, most likely by significantly reducing the use of fossil fuels.

U.S. emissions declined 1.9% in 2023 from the research firm Rhodium Group. That between economic growth and climate pollution.

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