Net-Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050?
- Jonas Towle
- Aug 9, 2022
- 2 min read
On December 8, 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring the federal government to be fully carbon neutral by 2050. But just how close are we?
In 2021, only about 40% of energy production in the US came from clean sources. Nuclear energy made up about half that, plus wind, hydro power, and solar producing 9.2%, 6.3%, and 2.8% of energy production in the US respectively. Meanwhile, the other 60% was of course produced using fossil fuels, more than a third of that from coal. All in all, energy production is responsible for 25% of the US' total emissions. Transportation makes up another 29%, industry 23%, and emissions from agriculture, commercial and residential practices the remaining 23%. This adds up 6.6 billion tons of greenhouse gases as of 2019. And with rampant wildfires across the West, drought in the Midwest, and more than 100,000 deaths annually due to pollution, its urgent that we face pollution and its causes quickly.
Thankfully, America's total emissions have been dropping in recent years. The US' carbon emissions peaked around 2007 at a total of almost 7.5 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions compared to the 6.6 billion in 2019, a 12% reduction. Of course there's still a long ways to go, but some states are closer to zero emissions than others.
Image Courtesy of energy.gov
As seen in the graphic above, states energy sources vary greatly. Vermont runs completely off clean energy, while states like Hawaii are almost completely dependent on fossil fuels. Even on average, the majority of electricity is sourced from fossil fuels. Though things may start to change soon, as most states have pledged 100% clean energy production in the coming decades, with most target dates ranging from 2030 to 2050. But remember, energy production is only responsible for 25% of carbon emissions in the United States. Reducing the other 75% of emissions will require innovative solutions such as electric cars, electric planes, cleaner agricultural practices and cleaner concrete production. The Biden Administration recently set a goal of electric vehicles making up 50% of vehicle purchases by 2030, though with 2022 numbers only 4.6% of sales, reaching 50% in 8 short years seems unlikely. And with current projections showing the US missing the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius by wide margins, it's clear that goals aren't enough.
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