According to the EPA Press Release on October 23rd, greenhouse gas emissions are decreasing due to an increased use of natural gas in power generating plants. Utilities have shifted from using coal to using clean burning natural gas, a major factor in causing a decrease in carbon emissions.

eia energy-related carbon dioxide emissions

The EPA collects annual greenhouse gas information from over 8,000 facilities including power plants, gas and oil production and refining plants and landfills. The EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, which started in 2010, collects facility-level greenhouse gas data from major industrial sources across the US.

Greenhouse gas emissions from power plants have decreased 10 percent in two years. This decrease is largely due to electricity generation switching from coal to natural gas, as well as a slight decrease in electricity production.

Sources:

United Sates Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Releases Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data from Large Facilities

The Washington Free Beacon, Feds: Natural Gas Production Decreasing Greenhouse Emissions

U.S Energy Information Administration, U.S. Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions, 2012