In the last year, Greta Thunberg gained fame (like Time Magazine's Person of the Year) by coming to the USA to express her outrage over the lack of action on climate change. Her catch phrase has been "How dare you....."
So what's the reality? Has the USA under President Trump actually contributed to the greenhouse gases that are supposedly driving climate change? Did Trump just decide to ignore this supposed "crisis" so that his rich buddies in the oil industry could get richer still?
Today, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released the data regarding carbon emissions for 2019. If you read the mainstream media, you already know that America is indiscriminately pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and no longer cares about the threat of climate change. After all, Trump pulled the USA out of the Paris climate accords. The problem, of course, is that none of this is true.
According to the IEA, in 2019, carbon emissions from the USA fell y 2.9% from the prior year. That means that of all developed countries, emissions fell more in the USA since 2000 than in any other country. Over that time, emissions from US sources fell by just about 20%.
Emissions from the other developed countries are falling now too, pretty much in line with the current rate of decline in the USA. The EU and Japan both have declines in emissions.
Despite these declines, worldwide emissions still rose slightly. The entire increase came from underdeveloped nations like India and China. Given these facts, why did Greta come to New York to scream "How dare you?" Shouldn't someone have sent her to Beijing or New Delhi?
It's also worth remembering these statistics the next time that someone tells you about how urgently we need the Green New Deal. As of 2019, fully two thirds of the emissions world wide came from underdeveloped nations. Why would the USA, as one of the few big nations that has been consistently cutting emissions for the last 20 years, take steps that destroy our economy in the hope of stopping climate change? Shouldn't those responsible for current emissions take the lead in dealing with that problem?
So what's the reality? Has the USA under President Trump actually contributed to the greenhouse gases that are supposedly driving climate change? Did Trump just decide to ignore this supposed "crisis" so that his rich buddies in the oil industry could get richer still?
Today, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released the data regarding carbon emissions for 2019. If you read the mainstream media, you already know that America is indiscriminately pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and no longer cares about the threat of climate change. After all, Trump pulled the USA out of the Paris climate accords. The problem, of course, is that none of this is true.
According to the IEA, in 2019, carbon emissions from the USA fell y 2.9% from the prior year. That means that of all developed countries, emissions fell more in the USA since 2000 than in any other country. Over that time, emissions from US sources fell by just about 20%.
Emissions from the other developed countries are falling now too, pretty much in line with the current rate of decline in the USA. The EU and Japan both have declines in emissions.
Despite these declines, worldwide emissions still rose slightly. The entire increase came from underdeveloped nations like India and China. Given these facts, why did Greta come to New York to scream "How dare you?" Shouldn't someone have sent her to Beijing or New Delhi?
It's also worth remembering these statistics the next time that someone tells you about how urgently we need the Green New Deal. As of 2019, fully two thirds of the emissions world wide came from underdeveloped nations. Why would the USA, as one of the few big nations that has been consistently cutting emissions for the last 20 years, take steps that destroy our economy in the hope of stopping climate change? Shouldn't those responsible for current emissions take the lead in dealing with that problem?
1 comment:
What's your point?
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