"U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased 3.1% between 2017 and 2018, according to figures published yesterday by EPA.

The jump is the first time in a half-decade that U.S. emissions have gone up — a trend that undercuts efforts by the Trump administration to paint its anti-regulatory policies as the right tools to fight climate change. Trump took office in January 2017.

The 3.1% increase in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from Trump's second year in office was led by an uptick in carbon dioxide from the transportation sector, power generation, industry and other sources. The tally, which always draws on data from two years before, was published yesterday in the Federal Register.

The report is a requirement of U.S. membership in the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change — which will continue after the United States departs the Paris Agreement in November. A final version of the newly released draft document, known as the "Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks," is due April 15."

Jean Chemnick reports for ClimateWire February 13, 2020. [2]