Research Analyst
Michael Gaffney is a Research Analyst with Rhodium Group’s Energy & Climate practice.
Energy & ClimateMichael joined Rhodium from the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS), where he earned a Master of Public Policy. At GPS, he specialized in energy and environmental policy and conducted research on electric vehicle charging behavior and policy in California. Prior to graduate school, he worked as a Senior Associate at TDC, a Boston-based nonprofit management consulting firm. Michael holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Economy from UC Berkeley.
Note
Since peaking in 2004, US emissions have trended downward in a bumpy fashion. But after a significant decline in 2023, we estimate that 2024 emissions were down by just 0.2% year-on-year while the economy grew by 2.7%.
Note
Rolling back executive action on climate could raise average household energy costs, increase dependence on oil and gas imports, drive up GHG emissions, and put substantial levels of private investment at risk.
Report
In our annually updated outlook for US greenhouse gas emissions under current federal and state policy, we find that the US is on track to reduce emissions 38-56% below 2005 levels by 2035, absent any additional new action.
Note
EPA recently finalized new standards for regulating greenhouse gases from power plants. We analyze what the new rules mean for electric power GHG and conventional pollutant emissions into the next decade.
