OREANDA-NEWS. As it prepares for the November 30 start-up of the United Nations Climate Change conference in Paris, the US Department of Energy has been generating data that shows total US carbon dioxide emissions have declined and then flattened out in the past eight years, with emissions specifically from the US power sector part of the same trend.

The year 2007 was pivotal, according to the DOE’s Energy Information Administration. That year the US saw its CO2 emissions peak at 6 billion metric tons, which was 20% of the global total of 30 billion mt. Also that year it was reported that China produced approximately 6 billion mt of CO2.

In 2007, the US power sector emitted 2.416 billion mt of CO2, or 40% the US total. The amount of CO2 that came from burning coal was 1.987 billion mt in 2007, or 82% of total power sector emissions.

From the 2007 high until 2012, the US’s total CO2 emissions ratcheted downward.

By 2012 total US CO2 emissions had fallen to the lowest level since 1994, declining to 5.226 billion mt. In five years, annual emissions had fallen 774 million mt, or 12.8%, from the 2007 level. That compared to a 15% increase it global annual output of CO2, which the European Commission said totaled 34.5 billion mt in 2012. The US’ share of the global total had fallen to 15.1% in 2012.

The five-year period of decline coincided with a financial panic and subsequent deep recession, weak power demand, the beginning of a substantial renewables build-out, and fracking and a natural gas production boom that was followed by falling natural gas prices which led to coal-to-gas switching.

By 2012 total US power sector emissions declined 387 million mt from its 2007 high. Power sector CO2 emissions were down 16% to 2.029 billion mt in 2012.

Most revealing, C02 emissions from the power sector’s use of coal fell 476 million mt to 1.511 billion mt, down 24% from its 1.987 billion mt high in 2007. CO2 emissions from burning coal declined from 82% to 74% of total power sector emissions in those five years.