The U.S. electric power sector has surpassed the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan emissions reduction targets 11 years ahead of schedule, according to a new report by the Carbon Tax Center.

The CPP aimed to cut carbon emissions from electricity generation by 32 percent of 2005 levels by 2030. But in 2019, the power sector exceeded all expectations – without the CPP ever being implemented – by reducing emissions by 33 percent since 2005, thanks in large part to natural gas.

Even more impressive, the rate of carbon emission reductions has continued to accelerate. During the first three years of the Trump administration, the use of coal for electricity generation shrank faster than in years prior. At the same time, electricity generation from natural gas grew by 22 percent and now makes up the largest share of electricity generation.

The result? The pace of carbon reductions in these three years exceeded the average reduction rate over the prior eleven years by 25 percent.

Read more at EIDClimate.org.

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