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Busy Thanksgiving weekend traffic in California (November 2022 image)
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According to a study, the USA emitted more climate-damaging greenhouse gases last year than in the previous year: the US think tank Rhodium Group estimates that emissions have increased by 1.3 percent compared to 2021.
This means that the emissions of the world's largest economy are only 15.5 percent below the level of 2005. The promise to halve emissions by 2030 is therefore difficult to keep.
At the world climate conference in Sharm al-Sheikh at the end of last year, US President Joe Biden warned that global warming would endanger the existence of the country.
He announced America will meet its climate goals by 2030.
However, he was not very specific.
Increased heating requirement
According to estimates, however, the increase in emissions in 2022 at least flattened out: in 2021 emissions had increased by 6.5 percent.
In 2020, in the first year of the corona pandemic, there was a slump of 10.6 percent due to the recession.
According to the researchers, emissions grew at least more slowly than the economy last year.
This is due to a drop in emissions in the power sector as gas and renewables have progressively displaced coal, the study said.
In the building sector, on the other hand, an increase of six percent was registered, which can be attributed to the increased heating requirement due to the below-average winter temperatures.
According to the think tank, the US could cut its emissions in the new year if the government accelerates implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
This provides for high climate-related expenditure and tax incentives for electric cars and renewable energies.
A previous study said this could reduce emissions by up to 44 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.
"But even with the IRA, more aggressive action is needed to fully close the gap to 50 to 52 percent by 2030," the analysis reads.
According to the think tank, the estimate is based on preliminary economic and energy data for the year 2022.
ani/Reuters
