Fighting global warming: the tide is turning!
Good news! We, the citizens of the world, may be starting to burn less carbon - not more!
The International Energy Agency claims:
In 2014, global carbon dioxide emissions from energy production stopped growing!
It seems the big difference is China. They say the Chinese made more electricity from renewable sources, such as hydropower, solar and wind, and burned less coal.
In fact, a report by Greenpeace says that from April 2014 to April 2015, China's carbon emissions dropped by an amount equal to the entire carbon emissions of the United Kingdom!
I want to check this, because it would be wonderful - a 5% drop. They say that if this trend continues, in 2015 China will make the biggest reduction in CO2 emissions every recorded by a single country.
The International Energy Agency also credits Europe's improved attempts to cut carbon emissions for the turnaround. In the US, carbon emissions has basically been dropping since 2006 - with a big drop in 2009 due to the economic collapse, a partial bounce-back in 2010, but a general downward trend.
In the last 40 years, there were only 3 other times when emissions stood still or fell compared to the previous year, all during economic crises: the early 1980's, 1992, and 2009. In 2014, however, the global economy expanded by 3%.
So, the tide may be turning! But please remember: while carbon emissions may start dropping, they're still huge. The amount of the CO2 in the air shot above 400 parts per million this year. As Erika Podest of NASA put it:
CO2 concentrations haven't been this high in millions of years. Even more alarming is the rate of increase in the last five decades and the fact that CO2 stays in the atmosphere for hundreds or thousands of years. This milestone is a wake up call that our actions in response to climate change need to match the persistent rise in CO2. Climate change is a threat to life on Earth and we can no longer afford to be spectators.
So let's not slack off now! The battle has just begun. We need to cut carbon emissions to almost zero.
Here is the announcement by the International Energy Agency:
http://www.iea.org/newsroomandevents/news/2015/march/global-energy-related-emissions-of-carbon-dioxide-stalled-in-2014.html
"This gives me even more hope that humankind will be able to work together to combat climate change, the most important threat facing us today," said IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol.
Their full report will come out in June. Here is the report by Greenpeace EnergyDesk:
http://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2015/05/14/china-coal-consumption-drops-further-carbon-emissions-set-to-fall-by-equivalent-of-uk-total-in-one-year/
I trust them less than the IEA when it comes to using statistics correctly, but someone should be able to verify their claims if true. The graph here comes from this article:
http://qz.com/405059/chinas-on-track-for-the-biggest-reduction-in-coal-use-ever-recorded/
#globalwarming
Good news! We, the citizens of the world, may be starting to burn less carbon - not more!
The International Energy Agency claims:
In 2014, global carbon dioxide emissions from energy production stopped growing!
It seems the big difference is China. They say the Chinese made more electricity from renewable sources, such as hydropower, solar and wind, and burned less coal.
In fact, a report by Greenpeace says that from April 2014 to April 2015, China's carbon emissions dropped by an amount equal to the entire carbon emissions of the United Kingdom!
I want to check this, because it would be wonderful - a 5% drop. They say that if this trend continues, in 2015 China will make the biggest reduction in CO2 emissions every recorded by a single country.
The International Energy Agency also credits Europe's improved attempts to cut carbon emissions for the turnaround. In the US, carbon emissions has basically been dropping since 2006 - with a big drop in 2009 due to the economic collapse, a partial bounce-back in 2010, but a general downward trend.
In the last 40 years, there were only 3 other times when emissions stood still or fell compared to the previous year, all during economic crises: the early 1980's, 1992, and 2009. In 2014, however, the global economy expanded by 3%.
So, the tide may be turning! But please remember: while carbon emissions may start dropping, they're still huge. The amount of the CO2 in the air shot above 400 parts per million this year. As Erika Podest of NASA put it:
CO2 concentrations haven't been this high in millions of years. Even more alarming is the rate of increase in the last five decades and the fact that CO2 stays in the atmosphere for hundreds or thousands of years. This milestone is a wake up call that our actions in response to climate change need to match the persistent rise in CO2. Climate change is a threat to life on Earth and we can no longer afford to be spectators.
So let's not slack off now! The battle has just begun. We need to cut carbon emissions to almost zero.
Here is the announcement by the International Energy Agency:
http://www.iea.org/newsroomandevents/news/2015/march/global-energy-related-emissions-of-carbon-dioxide-stalled-in-2014.html
"This gives me even more hope that humankind will be able to work together to combat climate change, the most important threat facing us today," said IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol.
Their full report will come out in June. Here is the report by Greenpeace EnergyDesk:
http://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2015/05/14/china-coal-consumption-drops-further-carbon-emissions-set-to-fall-by-equivalent-of-uk-total-in-one-year/
I trust them less than the IEA when it comes to using statistics correctly, but someone should be able to verify their claims if true. The graph here comes from this article:
http://qz.com/405059/chinas-on-track-for-the-biggest-reduction-in-coal-use-ever-recorded/
#globalwarming
