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> Except that coal being dead in Sweden or France is essentially meaningless when roughly 60-70% of the power in China and India comes from coal. That's an inc

> Except that coal being dead in Sweden or France is essentially meaningless when roughly 60-70% of the power in China and India comes from coal. That's an inconvenient truth that's mostly left out of a lot of the narratives around climate change. When you look at who's polluting and who's emissions are on an upward trajectory, there's one obvious country that's actively working against the environment. China's emissions aren't slowing down. Coal is incredibly cheap when there's no carbon tax or emission standards. One of the many reasons it's cheaper to manufacture in China and why North Americans and Europeans can't compete [0]. Comparing the US[1] and China[2], the US has: - Decreasing per capita emissions in the US starting in 1973 (-27%) - A decrease in the countries emission starting in 2007 (-13%) Meanwhile for the same period China has had - a 7x increase per capita since 1973 (+532%) - 48% increase for its global emissions since 2007 So it is possible to drastically reduce our carbon footprint thanks to innovation and smarter power generation. Time to add tariffs on goods produced by states who made the decision of going all-in on polluting power generation, and potentially apply immigration quotas to citizens of these countries. [0] https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/26/us-leads-greenhouse-gas-emissions-on-a-per-capita-basis-report-finds.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/26/us-leads-greenhouse-gas-emis... [1] https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/united-states https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/united-states [2] https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/china https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/china

s1artibartfast 5y ago
> Comparing the US[1] and China[2], the US has: I think it is misleading to look at % change without also taking into account the total magnitude, as the development state and energy situations in each country are drastically different. China is in a growth phase so electricity demand is increasing year over year. US electricity demand is relatively constant. China emissions are certainly increasing, but they are still half of the US per capita.[1] Despite lower GDP, China has brought significantly more renewable power production online than the US in the last 10 years[2]. The US has added about 300 Twh of renewable electricity production in the last 10 years. China has has added about 1,600 Twh of renewable electricity production in the last 10 years.[3] China electricity demand will increase to support GDP, and this is non-negotiable. They already source more of their electricity from renewables (as a percent), and are on track to have a lower fossil fuel consumption (as a percent) when they stabilize development. In short, China is lower than the US in terms of per capita CO2 emissions, and has a trajectory to remain lower in the future. 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... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_the_United... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_China

s1artibartfast 5y ago

> Comparing the US[1] and China[2], the US has: I think it is misleading to look at % change without also taking into account the total magnitude, as the development state and energy situations in each country are drastically different. China is in a growth phase so electricity demand is increasing year over year. US electricity demand is relatively constant. China emissions are certainly increasing, but they are still half of the US per capita.[1] Despite lower GDP, China has brought significantly more renewable power production online than the US in the last 10 years[2]. The US has added about 300 Twh of renewable electricity production in the last 10 years. China has has added about 1,600 Twh of renewable electricity production in the last 10 years.[3] China electricity demand will increase to support GDP, and this is non-negotiable. They already source more of their electricity from renewables (as a percent), and are on track to have a lower fossil fuel consumption (as a percent) when they stabilize development. In short, China is lower than the US in terms of per capita CO2 emissions, and has a trajectory to remain lower in the future. 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... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_the_United... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_China