However, the country as a whole is still not on track to meet the Paris Agreement’s end goal of keeping global temperatures below the threshold for potentially devastating impacts from climate change. In fact, last year, even as coal plants were retired at a record pace, carbon emissions rose sharply from increased production at industrial sources and greater-than-normal energy use from buildings withstanding inclement weather, according to estimates from Rhodium Group, an independent research firm. The 3.4 percent spike marks the second largest rise in emissions in more than two decades.