Carbon emissions grew in 2014

Carbon emissions grew last year, according to government figures, although slower than the economy did as a whole.

{mosads}The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Monday that energy-related carbon emissions increased 0.7 percent in 2014. It’s the second straight year emissions have grown, but the EIA noted that the increase was slower than the overall expansion of the economy, at 2.7 percent.

Changes in carbon emissions generally reflect other economic and energy-related factors. Two other indicators — energy intensity, a measure of energy used per unit of GDP, and carbon intensity, the amount of carbon dioxide released per unit of energy consumed — improved slightly in 2014, according to the agency.

The Obama administration is pursuing a plan to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by up to 28 percent compared to 2005 levels within a decade. EIA projects energy-related emissions to increase slightly over the next two years, and, “future energy consumption and related emission levels will depend largely on a mix of weather, energy sources, and economic factors — as well as potential changes in national and state policies.”