4 ms·

Yeah, except that the US has reduced emissions more than any other country and is highly competitive on a per-capita percentage basis.

pmlnr 8y ago
Numbers, please. Also, starting from the US emissions per capita, it's really not hard to reduce it.
maxxxxx 8y ago
If you mean with competitive that the US is among the countries with the highest per capita emissions then you are right.
realradicalwash 8y ago
you just gonna throw this out or will you back up your claims by some sources? because looking here[0] tells a very different story. while there has been a reduction since 1980, it has not been "more than any other country". and crucially, per capita emissions are pretty bad in the US. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_di...
thomasahle 8y ago
I found this: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/07/16/chart-of-the-week-the-us-is-a-leader-in-co2-reduction/ https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/07/16/chart-of-the-week-the... Which agrees in total tons. I didn't find anything per capita, or relative to current emissions.
Udik 8y ago
Anyway measuring emissions this way is pointless when the production is simply offshored to other countries.
- thinkcontext 8y ago
  According to Carbon Brief traded goods are 22% of emissions. 78% isn't "pointless" and there are things that can't be offshored like driving to work, running your fridge or heating your building. That said, I agree with the trade system accounting for CO2 emissions. https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-worlds-largest-co2-importers-exporters https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-worlds-largest-co2-import...
audunw 8y ago
> Yeah, except that the US has reduced emissions more than any other country Starting from insanely high emission levels > and is highly competitive on a per-capita percentage basis. No. That's just false. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_di...
- paulddraper 8y ago
  ??? Your link says in 2013 the U.S. was near its neighbor Canada on per capita carbon emissions. That's still double the EU. But that's also 6 years ago; the gap will have closed somewhat.
  - sitkack 8y ago
    And Canada reflects the emission levels of rich Americans. Canada is no roll model on carbon emission.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
    - wolco 8y ago
      Canada is a huge frozen country most of the year. Comparing warmer countries to Canada doesn't make sense emission wise.
      - Zenst 8y ago
        Does currently, but that's climate shift for you.
    - wonthegame 8y ago
      Yeah but look at our totals. It’s very low. Per capita it is bad. We are wasteful and an oil producing country but our population is spread out and we have a colder climate. Check out the breakdown and you’ll see transportation is the offender.
    - 8y ago
okal 8y ago
Not true. The US is responsible for 14% of emissions, which is unconscionable for a country that only holds ~4.5% of the world's population. You're actually doing quite horribly on a per-capita basis. China is doing far better than the US on a per-capita count.
- sadris 8y ago
  Should be GDP per unit of carbon. Not people.
  - rat9988 8y ago
    Why? Are some people allowed to pollute more or less depending on if they are rich or poor?
    - sadris 8y ago
      More productive people are allowed to pollute more because they create more good for the world like cures for cancer and the internet and machine learning.
- adventured 8y ago
  That is solely because 1/3 of China's population is still living extremely impoverished lives that are equivalent to third world standards. They have 400-500 million people that are still among the poorest on earth. I can't imagine how you think that's an accomplishment that deserves recognition. Their low per capita pollution output due to extreme poverty, is not due to stellar environmental policies by China.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - EastToWest 8y ago
    I just want to point out that, as of 2012, there was only 6.5% of the population in China living in poverty according to World Bank. http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview#3 http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview#3
pygy_ 8y ago
This is only true in absolute numbers, because the US started so much higher than the rest of the world. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC?locations=US-EU https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC?location... Even though it started lower, Europe has been reducing its emissions at a faster rate. In 2014, Europe was at 63% of its peak of emissions, whereas the US were at 72%. The slope in log scale gives it away too (from the same data set, comparing US (orange) and Eurozone (blue) since 1971): https://i.imgur.com/099XLIw.png https://i.imgur.com/099XLIw.png

pmlnr 8y ago

Numbers, please. Also, starting from the US emissions per capita, it's really not hard to reduce it.

maxxxxx 8y ago

If you mean with competitive that the US is among the countries with the highest per capita emissions then you are right.

realradicalwash 8y ago

you just gonna throw this out or will you back up your claims by some sources? because looking here[0] tells a very different story. while there has been a reduction since 1980, it has not been "more than any other country". and crucially, per capita emissions are pretty bad in the US. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_di...

thomasahle 8y ago

I found this: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/07/16/chart-of-the-week-the-us-is-a-leader-in-co2-reduction/ https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/07/16/chart-of-the-week-the... Which agrees in total tons. I didn't find anything per capita, or relative to current emissions.

Udik 8y ago

Anyway measuring emissions this way is pointless when the production is simply offshored to other countries.

thinkcontext 8y ago
According to Carbon Brief traded goods are 22% of emissions. 78% isn't "pointless" and there are things that can't be offshored like driving to work, running your fridge or heating your building. That said, I agree with the trade system accounting for CO2 emissions. https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-worlds-largest-co2-importers-exporters https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-worlds-largest-co2-import...

audunw 8y ago

> Yeah, except that the US has reduced emissions more than any other country Starting from insanely high emission levels > and is highly competitive on a per-capita percentage basis. No. That's just false. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_di...

paulddraper 8y ago
??? Your link says in 2013 the U.S. was near its neighbor Canada on per capita carbon emissions. That's still double the EU. But that's also 6 years ago; the gap will have closed somewhat.
- sitkack 8y ago
  And Canada reflects the emission levels of rich Americans. Canada is no roll model on carbon emission.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - wolco 8y ago
    Canada is a huge frozen country most of the year. Comparing warmer countries to Canada doesn't make sense emission wise.
    - Zenst 8y ago
      Does currently, but that's climate shift for you.
  - wonthegame 8y ago
    Yeah but look at our totals. It’s very low. Per capita it is bad. We are wasteful and an oil producing country but our population is spread out and we have a colder climate. Check out the breakdown and you’ll see transportation is the offender.
  - 8y ago

okal 8y ago

Not true. The US is responsible for 14% of emissions, which is unconscionable for a country that only holds ~4.5% of the world's population. You're actually doing quite horribly on a per-capita basis. China is doing far better than the US on a per-capita count.

sadris 8y ago
Should be GDP per unit of carbon. Not people.
- rat9988 8y ago
  Why? Are some people allowed to pollute more or less depending on if they are rich or poor?
  - sadris 8y ago
    More productive people are allowed to pollute more because they create more good for the world like cures for cancer and the internet and machine learning.
adventured 8y ago
That is solely because 1/3 of China's population is still living extremely impoverished lives that are equivalent to third world standards. They have 400-500 million people that are still among the poorest on earth. I can't imagine how you think that's an accomplishment that deserves recognition. Their low per capita pollution output due to extreme poverty, is not due to stellar environmental policies by China.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- EastToWest 8y ago
  I just want to point out that, as of 2012, there was only 6.5% of the population in China living in poverty according to World Bank. http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview#3 http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview#3

pygy_ 8y ago

This is only true in absolute numbers, because the US started so much higher than the rest of the world. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC?locations=US-EU https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC?location... Even though it started lower, Europe has been reducing its emissions at a faster rate. In 2014, Europe was at 63% of its peak of emissions, whereas the US were at 72%. The slope in log scale gives it away too (from the same data set, comparing US (orange) and Eurozone (blue) since 1971): https://i.imgur.com/099XLIw.png https://i.imgur.com/099XLIw.png