US Topped 2025 Global CO2 Emissions Growth
By Reuters | 29 Jun, 2026

Thanks in large part to Trump policies favoring hydrocarbon energy sources while suppressing green energy initiatives, the US accounted for about a third of the rise in global carbon emissions in 2025.

The Marathon Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City outside of Houston, Texas, U.S., May 11, 2026. REUTERS/Shahrzad Rasekh

The United States accounted for about a third of the rise in global carbon emissions in 2025, as higher gas prices pushed power producers back to coal, an Energy Institute report showed.

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

• U.S. coal consumption jumped 10% last year, reversing a shift towards cleaner fuels and helping lift overall emissions.

• Global carbon emissions from the energy sector rose 1.1% to 35,806 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. More than a third of this increase came from the U.S. North America's increase bucked the 10-year trend of emissions falling by 0.7%.

• Global energy-related demand continued to grow. Total energy supply rose 1.7% from 2024, with renewables contributing the biggest share of that increase. Renewable power generation climbed 9.1%, led by a 30% surge in solar.

• Europe's carbon emissions from the energy sector increased by 0.5%, while China's rose by 0.7% in 2025.

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

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

• In China, gasoline and diesel use declined last year, 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.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen. Editing by Nina Chestney and Mark Potter)