Statewide emissions in Rhode Island rose 8.9 percent in 2021, after falling 14.4 percent since 1990, according to data released Monday by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
The rebound is consistent with regional and national trends, according to the DEM.
The increase in emissions in 2021 was driven by transportation, residential heating and electricity consumption, the DEM said. Transportation emissions rose 5.4 percent, due in part to an increase in air travel and passenger vehicle traffic following the first year of the pandemic. Residential heating emissions rose 12.5 percent, due to a colder and snowier winter.
Electricity consumption emissions rose 12.5 percent, the DEM said. The increase is linked to the evolution of the electric grid in the region, as well as Rhode Island’s transition to cleaner forms of energy.
The DEM said the state has made significant progress in reducing emissions from transportation, electricity consumption and residential heating, but more work needs to be done to meet climate change targets.
“All sectors, state agencies, and consumers need to continue working collaboratively to meet Rhode Island’s 2030 goal of reducing emissions by 45 percent from 1990 levels,” said DEM Director Terry Gray.
The state’s annual greenhouse gas inventory is used to track progress toward the Rhode Island Act on Climate, which calls for a 45 percent reduction in emissions by 2030.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
