Inside Climate News reports that emissions dropped in 2019.
Market forces, not mandates, were the main reason for this emission drop–as coal was replaced by more cost-effective natural gas and renewable energy. The electricity sector no longer emits the most carbon, transportation does. There are several advancements in transportation technology to be optimistic about emissions reduction potential.
The story of the emissions decline has largely been one of market forces—rather than policies—that have made utilities close coal plants in favor of cheaper natural gas and renewable energy. But this shift to lower-carbon energy has been restricted to the electricity sector, and the nation’s emissions cuts are still not on track to meet the targets it agreed to under the Paris climate accord.
Read the full story here.
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