What does sustainability mean post Copenhagen?
I grappling with the role of sustainability post-Copenhagen. It just strikes me as so much fiddling while Rome literally burns. While Obama put a happy face on agreements reached there, I can't imagine how people can see it as anything but a dismal failure.
A recent editorial does a good job of capturing some key issues, though it paints a picture that's a bit too rosy for my taste.
The IPCC is a key scientific group established to provide decision-makers with accurate scientific information. By the way, you won't find any information here from climate change skeptics. That's a waste of time and crucial energy that you can go and research yourself if you so choose.
China and the U.S. haggle over crumbs that take on a 'he said she said' quality which is utterly short-term. While the U.S. has its hands bloody in this argument, China again once again rings the sovereignty bell arguing that climate change limitations mess with their sovereignty. How tiresome is their argument? It's trotted out every time anyone so much as suggests that China needs to clean up it's act.
CO2 emission per capita lead to odd rankings. China is 96th out of 210 countries at 4.6, the U.S. is 9th at 19 with Luxembourg are 6th at 23.5 and the Netherlands are 7th at 23 and Trinadad and Tobago are 8th at 23 metric tons per person. Some puzzling results.
According to an EIA study, "China has the highest percentage increase in carbon dioxide emissions per capita in the IEO2009 reference case, from 4.6 metric tons per person in 2006 to 8.0 metric tons per person in 2030 (Table 17 and Figure 89). Russia has the highest absolute increase, from 11.9 metric tons per person in 2006 to 16.0 metric tons per person in 2030. Among the IEO2009 country groupings, the lowest levels of emissions per capita in the world are in India and Africa. India’s emissions per capita increase from 1.1 metric tons per person in 2006 to 1.4 metric tons per person in 2030..."
Looking at emission as a percent of GDP, also produces some very odd results. The report notes "China, with a relatively high rate of growth in emissions (2.8 percent per year), has an even higher GDP growth rate (6.4 percent per year). As a result, its emissions intensity falls from 1,001 metric tons per million dollars in 2006 to 443 metric tons per dollars in 2030...Canada has the highest carbon dioxide intensity among the OECD countries in 2030, at 359 metric tons per million dollars of GDP, followed by South Korea at 351 metric tons and Australia/New Zealand at 322 metric tons. U.S. carbon dioxide intensity in 2030 is 282 metric tons per million dollars of GDP."
How about we look at growth in total carbon emissions? The report notes that "In the IEO2009 reference case, U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions are projected to grow at an average annual rate of 0.3 percent from 2006 to 2030. The highest rate of increase in annual emissions of carbon dioxide among the OECD countries is projected for South Korea, at 1.2 percent per year...The highest growth rate among the non-OECD countries is projected for China, at 2.8 percent annually from 2006 to 2030."
In 2006, China surpassed the U.S. in total CO2 emissions per year. If we look at total emissions over a 10-year period, the U.S> is the largest total emitter with 64.1 million tons and China is second with 45.3 million tons.
A recent editorial does a good job of capturing some key issues, though it paints a picture that's a bit too rosy for my taste.
The IPCC is a key scientific group established to provide decision-makers with accurate scientific information. By the way, you won't find any information here from climate change skeptics. That's a waste of time and crucial energy that you can go and research yourself if you so choose.
China and the U.S. haggle over crumbs that take on a 'he said she said' quality which is utterly short-term. While the U.S. has its hands bloody in this argument, China again once again rings the sovereignty bell arguing that climate change limitations mess with their sovereignty. How tiresome is their argument? It's trotted out every time anyone so much as suggests that China needs to clean up it's act.
CO2 emission per capita lead to odd rankings. China is 96th out of 210 countries at 4.6, the U.S. is 9th at 19 with Luxembourg are 6th at 23.5 and the Netherlands are 7th at 23 and Trinadad and Tobago are 8th at 23 metric tons per person. Some puzzling results.
According to an EIA study, "China has the highest percentage increase in carbon dioxide emissions per capita in the IEO2009 reference case, from 4.6 metric tons per person in 2006 to 8.0 metric tons per person in 2030 (Table 17 and Figure 89). Russia has the highest absolute increase, from 11.9 metric tons per person in 2006 to 16.0 metric tons per person in 2030. Among the IEO2009 country groupings, the lowest levels of emissions per capita in the world are in India and Africa. India’s emissions per capita increase from 1.1 metric tons per person in 2006 to 1.4 metric tons per person in 2030..."
Looking at emission as a percent of GDP, also produces some very odd results. The report notes "China, with a relatively high rate of growth in emissions (2.8 percent per year), has an even higher GDP growth rate (6.4 percent per year). As a result, its emissions intensity falls from 1,001 metric tons per million dollars in 2006 to 443 metric tons per dollars in 2030...Canada has the highest carbon dioxide intensity among the OECD countries in 2030, at 359 metric tons per million dollars of GDP, followed by South Korea at 351 metric tons and Australia/New Zealand at 322 metric tons. U.S. carbon dioxide intensity in 2030 is 282 metric tons per million dollars of GDP."
How about we look at growth in total carbon emissions? The report notes that "In the IEO2009 reference case, U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions are projected to grow at an average annual rate of 0.3 percent from 2006 to 2030. The highest rate of increase in annual emissions of carbon dioxide among the OECD countries is projected for South Korea, at 1.2 percent per year...The highest growth rate among the non-OECD countries is projected for China, at 2.8 percent annually from 2006 to 2030."
In 2006, China surpassed the U.S. in total CO2 emissions per year. If we look at total emissions over a 10-year period, the U.S> is the largest total emitter with 64.1 million tons and China is second with 45.3 million tons.
The data wars are not trivial as witnessed by a news report on the eve of the Climate Conference where China announced a 40-45 percent reduction in CO2 emission per unit of GDP between 2005 and 2020. This compares to the U.S. announced goal of reducing them 17 percent over the same period. China called that too low and called for industrialized countries to set a goal to meet at least a 40 percent reduction. People do understand a piece of the subtext for this U.S. - China standoff. It's just one aspect of the tussle occurring between these two countries with the backdrop being that China will surpass the U.S. as the largest economy on the globe by the end of the upcoming decade.
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