US carbon emissions up 2% in 2013

US energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2013 are expected to be roughly two percent above the 2012 level, the U.S. Energy Information Administration ( EIA) said Monday. The increase was largely due to a small increase in coal consumption in the electric power sector, the EIA said in a statement. Although coal has regained some market share from natural gas since a low in April 2012, the impact on overall emissions trends remains fairly small, it said. According to the EIA, emissions in 2013 are slightly more than 10 percent below 2005 levels, a significant contribution towards the goal of a 17 percent reduction in emissions from the 2005 level by 2020 which was adopted by the current administration. U.S. carbon emissions from energy activities declined four out of six years since their 2007 peak, and were historically low in 2012, about 12 percent below the 2005 level, thanks to weak economic growth, improved energy efficiency and an abundant and inexpensive supply of natural gas, resulting from the widespread use of new production technologies for shale gas.