Latest news with #poweremissions
E&E News
11-07-2025
- Business
- E&E News
10 Northeast states agree to triple rate of emission cuts
Ten states will accelerate their efforts to fight climate change by cutting their power sector emissions three times faster, under the terms of a new agreement. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative or RGGI, a coalition of Northeastern states, last week approved major upgrades to their carbon market system, seeking to remove as much carbon as possible from electricity generation. It's the third significant revision since the program began in 2009. Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont now will make deeper cuts in power sector greenhouse gas emissions — as much as 10 percent each year from 2027 through 2033. That's an increase from the current level of about 3 percent. Advertisement After that, the states will cut greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector about 3 percent a year from 2034 through 2037.
Reuters
15-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US and Europe drive global power emissions higher so far in 2025: Maguire
LITTLETON, Colorado, May 15 (Reuters) - The world's largest power polluter, China, made its biggest cut to power emissions since 2020 so far this year, but global power emissions have still held largely flat due to higher fossil fuel power generation in the United States and Europe. The United States and Europe emitted a combined 801 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil fuel-based power production during January to March, data from Ember shows. That emissions toll was 53 million tons or 7% more than during the same period in 2024, and was the highest since 2022 for the opening quarter of the year. The greater discharge from the U.S. and Europe largely offset a 60 million-ton drop in fossil power emissions in China, and means that global power sector pollution levels remain elevated despite reductions in the top polluting market. With the U.S. power sector about to enter its most fossil fuel-intensive generation period just as China's manufacturers lift output during the trade truce with the U.S., global power emissions will likely keep rising and hit new highs in 2025. Power producers in both the United States and Europe boosted generation from fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas during the opening months of 2025 from the year before. In Europe, sustained low wind speeds reduced supplies of clean power and forced utilities to compensate with 8% more fossil fuel-fired output than during January to March of 2024. Gas-fired generation climbed by 8% while coal-fired output rose by 6% during the first quarter of 2025 from the same months in 2024, according to Ember. In the United States, steadily rising power demand coupled with strong support for fossil fuels from the new administration of President Donald Trump spurred utilities to lift fossil fuel power output by 4% during January to March from the year before. However, sharply rising gas prices drove utilities to prioritise generation from cheaper-to-run coal plants, with coal-fired output jumping by 23% during January to March 2025 from the same months in 2024. Gas-fired power output shrank 4%. China's overall power demand during the opening months of 2025 was impacted by the stunted state of its economy, which has been hampered by an enduring construction sector credit crisis and more lately by the new trade war with the United States. Lower output by industrial plants and factories in turn reduced demand for power by the commercial sector, and allowed utilities to reduce output from fossil fuels by 4% during January to March from the same period in 2024. Going forward, however, China's manufacturers are likely to boost production following the recently announced 90-day trade truce between China and the United States. Higher factory activity will directly trigger more power demand, and will likely force Chinese power firms to lift output from fossil fuels to ensure adequate power supplies over the coming months. U.S. power firms are also set to crank fossil fuel-fired power production, as the peak period for U.S. power demand is over the summer when use of energy-intensive air conditioners is at its highest. The summer is also when U.S. solar power output peaks, which will provide utilities with more clean energy. But power firms will remain primarily dependent on fossil fuels for a majority of power supplies, especially during the evenings when solar output falls just as air conditioner use in households rises. And with benchmark U.S. natural gas prices currently holding around 40% more than where they were in May of 2024, utilities will likely continue to deploy high volumes of cheaper coal-fired power within generation networks. That in turn will further boost overall power emissions, as U.S. power firms discharge far more CO2 from coal-fired power generation than from gas-fired generation. In 2024, U.S. power firms discharged around 950,000 tons of CO2 per terawatt hour (TWh) of coal-fired electricity, and around 540,000 tons of CO2 per TWh of gas-fired electricity output, according to Ember. Combine those emissions loads with the expected rise in generation from China - where utilities rely on coal for around 60% of electricity supplies - and the stage is set for a further climb in global power emissions over the coming months. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
