Ecofys, a sustainability consultancy has put together a clear and well-arranged chart that maps worldwide greenhouse gas emissions by source and sector. It is based on data from credible sources such as the IEA, the EU Joint Research Centre, CDIAC, and the Global Carbon Project. One point worth noting is that while this chart analyzes the greenhouse gasses by source and sector, it does not show the varying contributions to climate change of these different gasses. For example, there is much less methane (CH4) being released into the atmosphere than carbon-dioxide (CO2), but CH4 is about 25 times more potent than CO2…
CO2 emissions drop, but natural gas won’t save us
Last month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a drop in U.S. carbon emissions to a 20 year low, basically matching the carbon emissions of 1992. The media’s coverage of this report was brief and rather one-sided. Here are a few representative samples: Kevin Begos from the Associated Press: Many of the world’s leading climate scientists didn’t see the drop coming, in large part because it happened as a result of market forces rather than direct government action against carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere. While conservation efforts, the lagging economy and greater use of renewable…
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