U.S. electric power plants are emitting less carbon dioxide than the nation's transportation sector for the first time since the late 1970s, according to analysis by the Energy Information Administration.
The feat, achieved between October 2015 and September 2016, comes as cleaner burning natural gas displaces coal-generated power, more solar and wind energy feed the grid, and regulations enacted by former President Barack Obama rein in pollution from smokestacks.
But efforts to further reduce carbon emissions from the electric power sector could hit a road bump as Donald Trump, who begins his presidency on Friday, aims to increase coal production and get rid of Obama-era environmental regulations.
Emissions from the power sector have been declining since 2007, EIA said. Carbon dioxide accounts for about 80 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activity, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The U.S. electric power sector consumes more energy than the transportation sector, which includes automobiles, planes and trains. Still, carbon emissions from power plants have managed to fall below those from transportation because carbon intensity from electric power generation has fallen faster.