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"Much easier to make large cuts when you're on a completely different level to to begin with" The author uses percentages. Both countries starting and endpoint

• Gwypaas 6y ago
  Look at the graph I linked. Burning oil more efficiently is easy when you start from coal and emit tons more, real change is hard. Compare to Sweden, less than 1/4 the CO2 emissions compared to the US, and an almost completely carbon free electric infrastructure. Getting another 10% is extremely hard, because all the easy options have already been exercised. Three glass windows, district heating, energy requirements for new builds, high gas taxes, car ownership taxes depending on CO2 emissions. All done. The final emissions are much harder questions, electric cars and public transport is the next. My town is converting over 30 bus lines to electric just this month, that is a hard change with large investments. Pilot programs started in 2013, now it's workable at a larger scale. They're starting a pilot program on steel manufacturing using green hydrogen from electrolysis where electrical ovens isn't possible, that is a hard change with completely new challenges. As said, real change is hard. Converting coal to gas and locking in another 30-40 years of fossil fuel is not real change.