The Republican Party in this administration does not prioritize climate reduction or climate-friendly policies and instead prioritizes emissions contributors that continue to worsen the climate crisis.
The United States’ most recent data on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 2025 show that the US emitted 5.35 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent, an increase of 2.4% from 2024. This was reported by Rhodium Group, the Institute for Energy Research, and the Climate Alliance Group.
The largest contributors to this increase include a 6.8% increase in higher building energy use due to heating needs in colder winter weather, and a 3.8% increase in power sector emissions, driven in large part by a 13% increase in coal energy production. The sectors with the smallest increases are the transportation industry, with only a 0.1% increase, and oil and gas, with only a 0.5% increase.
The US signed the Paris Agreement in 2016, when its GHG emissions levels were 6.87 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. At this time, it was 7.1% below 2005 GHG emissions levels. Most recent reports show that in 2025, US GHG emissions measured 6.5 million tons of CO2 equivalent, and the overall levels were approximately 18% below 2005 levels. This is well below the 2025 goals; however, the goal of reducing emissions by 50% in 2030 is far out of sight, especially given this administration’s policies and withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. Since withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, the United States federal government has not prioritized achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and is not on track to do so.
The greatest impediment to reaching carbon neutrality is the current administration’s being majority-controlled by the Republican Party. The Republican Party in this administration does not prioritize climate reduction or climate-friendly policies and instead prioritizes emissions contributors that continue to worsen the climate crisis. As the world’s second-highest GHG emissions contributor, it is time we get back on track.
This Post was submitted by Climate Scorecard US Country Manager Abby Carlson.