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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Are greenhouse gas emissions higher under Biden than they were under Trump?

Friday, February 25, 2022

By Jacob Alabab-Moser

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To fairly compare greenhouse gas emissions under Biden and Trump, two things must be acknowledged. First, there is only one year of emissions data available under Biden given that he did not become president until 2021. Second, pandemic-related lockdowns in 2020 hampered economic activity, creating an artificial dip in emissions.

With this in mind, emissions did rise by 6.2% in 2021 relative to 2020, according to an estimate by the Rhodium Group. However, the group noted that 2021 emissions remained 5% below 2019 levels.

Emissions were even higher in 2018, and about the same in 2017 as they were in 2019, according to data from Statista. This suggests Trump had higher peak emissions than Biden and that emissions were higher under Trump than Biden in all but the 2020 pandemic year.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts a 2% increase in emissions in 2022, driven by transportation-related petroelum consumption.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Rhodium Group Preliminary US greenhouse gas emissions estimates for 2021

Statista Carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption in the United States from 1975 to 2020

US Energy Information Administration U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.