EPA has released a report detailing air quality progress made during the Biden administration, just as the Trump administration unleashes a string of regulatory rollbacks and pushes for more reliance on fossil fuels.
Out of seven major pollutants, nationwide emissions of five fell between 2020, the year before President Joe Biden took office, and 2024, the final full year of his term, according to the latest edition of the agency’s Air Quality Trends report.
Releases of smog-forming nitrogen oxides dropped from 7.6 million tons to 6.9 million tons during that five-year period, the report shows, while emissions of carbon monoxide tumbled from 42.8 million tons to 41.2 million tons.
Also dipping, if less sharply, during the 2020-24 period were releases of ammonia, sulfur dioxide and volatile organic compounds, the numbers show. The exceptions were two types of particulate matter; their emissions remained largely flat during that time.
