US drives rise in global emissions as utilities turn back to coal: Report

The US accounted for about a third of the rise in global carbon dioxide emissions in 2025, as higher gas prices pushed power producers back to coal.

LONDON – The United States accounted for about a third of the rise in global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2025, as higher gas prices pushed power producers back to coal, an Energy Institute report showed on June 30.

Here are highlights from the report, produced in partnership with Ember, Kearney Institute and KPMG:

Global energy-related carbon emissions from the production and use of energy rose 1.1 per cent to 35,806 million tonnes of CO2 in 2025. About 13.3 per cent of that increase came from the US.

Including emissions from the energy sector and from gas flaring and methane, global emissions rose by 1.1 per cent to 41 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent. The US accounted for 36 per cent of that increase, with total emissions growth of 3.2 per cent year on year, compared with 0.3 per cent in China.

US coal consumption jumped 10 per cent in 2025, reversing a shift to cleaner fuels and helping to lift overall emissions.

China remained the largest emitter, accounting for 31.3 per cent of global energy-sector emissions, but its increase from 2024 was modest at 0.7 per cent. Europe’s emissions rose by 0.5 per cent.

North America recorded the largest absolute increase, with emissions rising by nearly 3 per cent from 2024 to 152.3 million tonnes, bucking a 10-year trend of falling emissions.

On a per capita basis, US emissions were nearly double those of China at 15.36 tonnes of CO2 per person, versus 8.92 tonnes in China, based on Reuters calculations taking the latest population data for 2025 from the US Census Bureau and National Bureau of Statistics of China.

Global energy demand continued to rise. Total energy supply increased 1.7 per cent in 2025, with renewables making the biggest contribution. Renewable power generation climbed 9.1 per cent, led by a 30 per cent surge in solar.

Electricity demand rose faster than supply, increasing 3 per cent year on year, driven by electric vehicles, data centres and artificial intelligence.

Global oil consumption rose 1.3 per cent in 2025 to 103 million barrels a day, compared with a 1.1 per cent increase in 2024, while production grew 3.5 per cent.

In China, petrol and diesel use declined in 2025, extending a trend seen in 2024.

Gas demand growth was concentrated in Europe, the Middle East and North America, with Europe and India relying on imports for nearly half of their supply. REUTERS