US greenhouse gas emissions jumped up in 2021

Last year, US greenhouse gas emissions increased by 6.2 percent beyond 2020 levels, owing to a 17 percent increase in coal-fired electricity use.

The estimated increase in emissions indicates that the US has fallen further behind the Biden administration's goal of reducing emissions by 50-52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 under the Paris climate agreement.

According to the Rhodium Group, a research company, US greenhouse gas emissions were 17.4 percent below 2005 levels in 2021, up from 22.2 percent below 2005 levels in 2020.

Using estimates of GDP growth of 5.7 percent year over year, it discovered that emissions growth exceeded economic recovery.

The transportation and electric power sectors drove the increase in emissions, with 10 percent and 6.6 percent increases in greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, respectively.