W.Va. Cuts Carbon Dioxide Emissions By A Third Since 2005

West Virginia has cut its carbon dioxide emissions in the past two decades, and by more than you might expect.

West Virginia saw a 33% reduction in per-capita CO2 emissions from 2005 to 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

That’s higher than the national average reduction of 30%, and higher than big states such as New York, California and Texas.

Still, the state remains the nation’s most reliant on coal to generate electricity, and coal is a major source of CO2.

The state’s coal fleet operates less frequently than it did 20 years ago, and some coal plants have closed in that time.

Nationally, coal has fallen from producing nearly half of electricity to about 15% last year.

Despite friendlier policies at the federal level for coal, it struggles to compete with natural gas and wind and solar.