Journal of Economic Perspectives
ISSN 0895-3309 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7965 (Online)
Carbon Rollercoaster: A Historical Analysis of Decarbonization in the United States
Journal of Economic Perspectives
(pp. 171–92)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
This paper documents the changing trends in US carbon emissions and discusses the main factors that contributed to the historical carbon emissions rollercoaster. We divide the discussion into four periods: up to 1920, 1920–1960, 1960–2005 and after 2005. For each period, we discuss the main drivers of national carbon emissions. We then discuss trends in carbon emissions in the electricity sector. Electricity sector emissions were initially very small, but would become the largest source of US carbon emissions over the period 1980–2015, and the largest contributor to decarbonization since 2007. In the last section, we offer some lessons for what developing economies might learn from the US experience.Citation
Clay, Karen, Akshaya Jha, Joshua Lewis, and Edson Severnini. 2025. "Carbon Rollercoaster: A Historical Analysis of Decarbonization in the United States." Journal of Economic Perspectives 39 (3): 171–92. DOI: 10.1257/jep.20241430Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- L94 Electric Utilities
- L98 Industry Studies: Utilities and Transportation: Government Policy
- N52 Economic History: Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, and Extractive Industries: U.S.; Canada: 1913-
- Q35 Hydrocarbon Resources
- Q54 Climate; Natural Disasters and Their Management; Global Warming
- Q58 Environmental Economics: Government Policy