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US EMISSIONS FOR QUARTER ONE SORE BY 4% DUE TO RECORD NUMBER OF MILES BEING LOGGED BY DRIVERS

US carbon emissions increased by 52 million tons in the first quarter of 2022, which brought total US emissions to 1.3 billion tons. This is the highest emission on record since the beginning of record-keeping in 1970. American drivers clocked a total of 753 billion miles despite the surging gasoline prices. The increasing road travel could likely be associated to the recovery of the economy which was held back at the height of the pandemic.

A partner at the Rhodium Group, an economic consulting firm that tracks emissions, John Larsen, said “Just because prices are going up on everything doesn’t mean consumers are changing their behavior yet. Either people are not as price sensitive to gas prices as they were or they haven’t hit that wall yet.”

According to analysts, it is too soon to predict if the high prices of oil and gas could affect the driving habits of the country. However, it is important to note that electric vehicles (EV) sales rose by 76%, according to Cox Automotive. Nevertheless, overall EV sales were relatively low in the grand scheme of things. In the first quarter of 2022, Americans bought around 140,000 Ford pickup trucks while the total number of EV sales were 173,000 only. To put that number into context, total SUV sales were around 1.8 million and total truck sales were around 649,000.

Ground transportation contributed to more than half of the total US emissions. Carbon Monitor, which is an academic emissions tracking initiative, estimates that industrial emissions increased by 4% in the first quarter. Americans are also flying more as borders are opening up and restrictions are being eased. The US Energy Information Administration data shows that domestic flight emissions increased by 8 million tons while international flight emissions rose by 4 million tons.

According to analysts, the economic devastation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has not been fully registered yet. Hence, it is difficult to predict energy prices in this quick changing energy landscape, according to Daniel Klein, an analyst who tracks energy trends at S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The power sector emissions fell by 0.3% with the reduction of coal use and increasing use of renewable sources of energy. The power sector has been reducing emissions steadily over the last decade, which can be attributed to the decreasing dependency on coal.

“It’s hard to see the trajectory of the transition being altered significantly without breakthroughs in policy or in technology,” Klein added.