EPA: U.S. carbon emissions down 4.9 percent

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released figures on Tuesday showing that carbon emissions from power plants, oil drilling, factories and other industrial sources are down approximately 4.9 percent in the U.S.

“It’s becoming more widely known that the United States is leading the world in the production of oil and natural gas while at the same time leading the world in lowering carbon emissions, which are near 20-year lows thanks to clean-burning natural gas,” President and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute (API) Jack Gerard said. “This is remarkable, and comes largely through American innovation and our free markets. While production of oil and gas has increased, carbon emissions have declined. Manufacturing costs are also down, and AAA says American drivers saved $550 at the pump last year because of increased energy production.”

The U.S. oil and natural gas industry invested approximately $90 billon in greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation technology from 2000 through 2014. Additional U.S. industries invested approximately $103 billion, while the federal government invested approximately $110 billion. Oil and natural gas industries spent approximately $217.5 billion on GHG mitigation technologies, more than doubling previous expenditures.

Oil and natural gas industries invested $14.8 billion in non-hydrocarbon resources from 2000 to 2014, including wind, solar, geothermal and biomass technologies, which accounted for approximately 17 percent of all non-hydrocarbon resource investments.

Between 2013 and 2014, the oil and natural gas industry reduced carbon emissions by approximately 55.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), comparable to removing approximately 11.8 million vehicles from the road.