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> but instead of doing that I keep hearing this like there is nobody working on this problem. There are a significant amount of resources being dedicated to th
by dntrkv 5y ago
> but instead of doing that
I keep hearing this like there is nobody working on this problem. There are a significant amount of resources being dedicated to this problem. Is it enough? No, of course not. These types of global coordinated efforts are more difficult than any technological problem we have ever faced.
In developed countries, per capita CO2 emissions are decreasing at a steady rate. Adoption of EVs and renewables will accelerate this decline.
The problem is in the developing countries (especially China and India) where these rates are increasing. But we can't exactly tell these countries to stop developing. So our only option is to continue to develop technology that will make it cheaper to use renewables over fossil fuels. And that's all well under way.
Carbon capture is just another tool for us to explore that may scale as more entities adopt it. The idea that because it costs too much to do now, we shouldn't explore it is silly. Solar was not financially feasible just a decade or two ago. Battery storage was the same.
Point is, we should explore every option. That does not mean all our progress in EVs and renewables stops, it's just another avenue for us to reduce our carbon footprint.
- ThePhysicist 5y agoNo, the problem is not mainly China and India. China emits just half as much CO2 per capita as the US and has already effectively halted further increase several years ago [1]. India is at 1/10th of the per capita emissions of the US. You can of course explore every option but there's already an option that works, so we should start implementing that. [1] https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC?locations=CN https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC?location...
- dntrkv 5y agoI am well aware that the US, Canada, and Australia have the highest CO2 emissions per capita. They all have a lot of work to do. I am not dismissing their major contribution to the problem. The US in particular has reduced per capita emissions significantly and continues to do so. The reason I pointed out China and India is that they are still developing and a large chunk of their population has yet to modernize. In the process, they will significantly increase their emissions. I am not blaming them. Any other country would do the same in their place. My point is that the only way we can reduce their coming impact (and all of the other developing countries) is by developing renewables and battery storage tech to be a viable alternative to fossil fuels.
- brightball 5y agoPer capita is great and all, but the population is still 4.5x for China and 4x that of the US for India. If we're being honest, a lot of those emissions probably would be coming from the US if so much manufacturing hadn't moved to China over the last few decades. From everything I've read, India isn't a big problem from a CO2 perspective but from an oceanic pollution perspective from trash dumping.
- rufus_foreman 5y agoHere's a chart of CO2 emissions by country: https://twitter.com/marceldirsus/status/1452641577407590409 https://twitter.com/marceldirsus/status/1452641577407590409. Asia produces 53% of global emissions. Per capita numbers are meaningless here. If the citizens of Liechtenstein were emitting 1,000 times much CO2 per capita as people in Asia, Asia would still be where you need to start if you were serious about reducing C02 emissions. I know, I know, but it's not fair!
- rsj_hn 5y ago> No, the problem is not mainly China and India. China emits just half as much CO2 per capita as the US Explain that to the air.