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U.S. carbon emissions dropped 2.1% in 2019 due to an 18% reduction in coal power use last year, lowering carbon emissions in the power sector by 10% overall. According to the research firm that conducted the study, coal use has declined by almost 50% over the last decade as prices have fallen for natural gas and renewable energy sources.
According to the Sierra Club, 61 coal power plants have announced plans to shut down since the beginning of the Trump administration. In addition, 2019 saw the closure of one of the biggest, the Navajo Generating Station in Arizona.
The benefits of transitioning away from reliance on coal power applies to human health as well, shown by a recent study indicating that 26,000 lives were saved as a result of shutting down coal power plants in the United States.
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When you turn coal units off you see deaths go down. It’s something we can see in a tangible way. There is a cost to coal beyond the economics. We have to think carefully about where plants are sited, as well as how to reduce their pollutants.”
