Decomposition Analysis And Renewables In CO2 Emission Trends

Summary

The decline in carbon dioxide emissions in the United States between 2007 and 2013 is actually more complex than previously thought. During that period, carbon dioxide emissions from United States energy use decreased sharply and unexpectedly, after rising for nearly two decades. At the end of the six-year period, U.S. annual carbon dioxide emissions had fallen by 11 percent– a drop the nation hadn’t experienced since the 1979 oil crisis.
Experts have typically attributed this decline to two factors: the drop in energy demand during the recession that began in 2007 and the surge in inexpensive natural gas that displaced coal in the energy mix during the same time. However, they missed another critical influence that hastened the decline in emissions just as much: the rapid rise in renewable energy production.
Between 2007 and 2013, wind-generated electricity grew nearly five times, to 168 terawatt hours, enough to power 15 million average American homes, while utility-scale solar grew to 8.7 TWh. During the same period, bioenergy production grew to 4,800 trillion BTUs, or 39 percent, which includes biofuels in the transportation sector.