Key Fact: US Carbon Emissions Increase 2.1% In 2013 And May Rise Again In 2014

Uncle Sam had been on a carbon diet for most of the last 6 years, as carbon emissions declined. The brief era of regularly declining carbon emissions, however, ended in 2013, when carbon emissions rose 2.1%. EIA also forecasts that emissions will rise modestly again this year.

Here is what the EIA states:

"EIA estimates that carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels increased by 2.1% in 2013 from the previous year. Emissions are forecast to rise 0.7% in 2014, followed by no change in 2015. The increase in emissions in 2013 primarily reflected growth in coal use for electricity generation in response to higher natural gas prices relative to coal. Coal emissions are projected to decline by 2.5% in 2015 as the power sector
responds to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards regulations by increasing coal plant
retirements."
http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/steo/pdf/steo_full.pdf.

Coal generation's market share increased from 37% in 2012 to 39.1% in 2013 and is projected to reach 40.2% in 2014, before declining to 38.6% in 2015. The rise in coal generation increases carbon emissions.