Podcast

What’s behind the rapid rise in US carbon emissions?

And what do two pandemic-related spikes in fossil fuel use mean for the energy transition?

On The Carbon Copy podcast this week:

When Covid-19 disrupted the economy and shifted energy use in the U.S., economywide carbon emissions sharply declined. Many began to wonder whether pandemic-related changes to our energy system would help or hurt the path to a net-zero carbon economy.

Two years later, we have clearer data, including a new report from the Rhodium Group on how emissions from fossil fuels have shifted since the pandemic started. In some cases, they’ve roared back faster than expected.

This week on The Carbon Copy, we look at what the latest emissions data tells us about what has shifted — and what hasn’t — across America’s carbon-dependent economy.

Guest: Melissa Lott, senior research scholar at Columbia University and host of The Big Switch podcast.

Note: This is a crossover episode between The Big Switch and The Carbon Copy. If you like what you hear, consider subscribing to both.

The Carbon Copy is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.

Recommended reading:

Support for Carbon Copy comes from Climate Positive, a podcast from Hannon Armstrong, the first U.S. public company solely dedicated to investing in climate solutions. The Climate Positive podcast features candid conversations with the leaders, innovators and changemakers driving our climate-positive future. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.