U.S. carbon dioxide emissions rise in 2013 spurred by coal, natural gas burning

Emissions from coal-burning power plant (Credit: U.S. Department of Energy)

Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels increased by 2.39 percent in 2013, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, ending a five-year trend of emissions drops.

The largest cause of the rise is the burning of coal, but CO2 emissions from natural gas also went up. They rose by nearly 2 percent in 2013 over 2012.

Carbon dioxide emissions from coal-burning, meanwhile, rose by more than 4 percent in 2013. For the first two months of 2014, the only months this year for which the agency has data, CO2 emissions are up by 7.45 percent over the same period in 2012.

Image: Emissions from coal-burning power plant (Credit: U.S. Department of Energy)