Four of the worst top ten polluters in the U.S., according to a ranking by the Environmental Protection Agency, are in the state of Texas.
The EPA stated that 2022 greenhouse gas data showed emissions from large industrial sources were nearly 1% lower than in 2021. It also indicated there has been an overall long-term decreasing trend in industry GHG emissions since 2011, primarily driven by a decrease in emissions from power plants to lower emissions inputs such as natural gas and renewables.
More than 8,100 industrial facilities reported greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 to EPA. The data show that in 2022:
- Power plants were the largest stationary source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, with 1,332 facilities emitting approximately 1.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. Reported power plant emissions decreased by 0.8% between 2021 and 2022. There is a 28.7% decrease in emissions since 2011 reflecting the long-term shifts in power sector fuel-stock from coal to natural gas.
- Petroleum and natural gas systems were the second largest stationary source of emissions, reporting 316 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Reported emissions for 2022 were 1.2% higher than in 2021, and 14.2% higher than 2016. (2016 is the earliest year of comparable data for this sector, as new industry segments began reporting that year.)
- Reported direct emissions from other large sources in the industrial and waste sectors were a combined 793 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, down 1.8% from 2021, and down 9.3% since 2011.
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