US drove one-third of global carbon emissions growth in 2025 as gas prices pushed power plants back to coal

A new report from the Energy Institute shows the United States was responsible for about a third of the rise in global carbon emissions in 2025. Higher natural gas prices led US power producers to burn more coal, with coal consumption jumping 10 percent last year. Global energy sector emissions rose 1.1 percent to 35,806 million metric tons of CO2, and North America's increase broke a 10-year trend of declining emissions. Renewable power generation still grew 9.1 percent, led by a 30 percent surge in solar, but it wasn't enough to offset the coal comeback. Electricity demand rose 3 percent year on year, driven by electric vehicles, data centers, and artificial intelligence. Europe's energy emissions edged up 0.5 percent, while China's rose 0.7 percent. The report, produced with Ember, Kearney Institute, and KPMG, highlights how short-term fuel price swings can stall progress on decarbonization.