United States energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in April fell to their lowest level, according to the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) records dating back to 1973, as coronavirus-led travel curbs limited energy consumption.
CO2 emissions in April fell to 307 million tonnes as virus-led stay-at-home orders decreased petroleum usage and shifted electricity consumption from commercial and industrial sectors to residential sector, the EIA said in a report.
“The largest decreases in CO2 emissions in April occurred in the transportation sector,” the EIA said.
Reuters Newsagency reports it added, stay-at home orders and other travel curbs reduced consumption of petrol, the most used petroleum fuel in the US, and jet fuel.
In April, CO2 emissions from petroleum and coal consumption fell to their record low, declining 25 per cent and 16 per cent, month-on-month, respectively, the report showed.
Emissions from automotive petrol consumption, which accounted for 57 per cent of transportation sector emissions in 2019, fell to a record-low 59 million tonnes.
Travel on US roads in April fell 39.8 per cent year-on-year, while US airlines carried three million passengers, a staggering 96 per cent decline from the same time a year ago, the US Transportation Department said in June.
However, emissions from natural gas were 22 per cent higher than the corresponding month of last year.
A larger share of power generation came from natural gas-fired plants and renewable energy powered plants, while coal-fired plants have retired or been used less often, according to the report.
The EIA forecasts emissions to increase through the reminder of 2020 but expects it to be 11 per cent lower than the previous year, the report added.
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