U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rose by 4.1% from major industrial sources in 2021 relative to 2020, according to data recently released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The increase is the largest year-on-year rise in emissions tallied across more than a decade of reporting. The emissions, totaling 2.7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, were self-reported to the agency by more than 8,100 of the largest climate polluters under EPA’s mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.

The data show that in 2021:

• Power plants were the largest stationary source of U.S. GHG emissions, with 1,326 facilities reporting approximately 1.6 billion metric tons of CO₂ emissions. While reported power plant emissionsThe FLIGHT map shows the locations of direct-emitting facilities. Source: EPA increased by 6.3% between 2020 and 2021, they have fallen 28.5% 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 312 million metric tons of GHG emissions. Reported emissions for 2021 were 0.7% lower than in 2020, but 12.8% 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 807 million metric tons of GHG emissions in 2021, up 1.8% from 2020, and down 7.7% since 2011.

The locations of major emitters are available by state, county and city on the Facility Level Information on GreenHouse Gases Tool (FLIGHT).