«It is almost entirely forest clearing in the tropics that currently contributes near 15 - 20 percent of
global carbon emissions coming from deforestation.
For example, about eight percent of
all global carbon emissions comes from brick manufacturing.
Never mind the fact that
global carbon emissions come from a wide variety of sources, both natural and man - made, and the American energy companies that are the chief targets of climate change litigation are responsible for only a fraction of total emissions.
Not exact matches
A study by McKinsey and Co. last year concluded that a quarter of the
carbon reduction required to stabilize
global greenhouse gas
emissions could
come from energy efficiency and conservation.
When it
comes to tackling climate change, President Barack Obama once had grand ambitions, including forging a
global deal on reducing greenhouse gas
emissions and persuading Congress to enact legislation that would impose fees on U.S.
carbon pollution.
Critics argue that albedo modification and other «geoengineering» schemes are risky and would discourage nations from trying to reduce their
emissions of
carbon dioxide, the heat - trapping gas that
comes from the burning of fossil fuels and that is causing
global warming by absorbing increasing amounts of energy from sunlight.
As more
carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere, the
global ocean soaks up much of the excess, storing roughly 30 percent of the
carbon dioxide
emissions coming from human activities.
The news of the increase in U.S. human - caused GHG
emissions comes at a critical moment in the
global battle against climate change, particularly after the International Energy Agency announced last month that
global carbon emissions related to energy consumption have stabilized for the first time in a growing economy.
Meanwhile,
global emissions of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases continue to increase, promising far worse to
come.
Around 15 % of the
global carbon dioxide
emissions that cause climate change
come from deforestation, and much of that occurs in the Amazon.
Nearly 15 % of the
global carbon dioxide
emissions that cause climate change
come from deforestation, much of which occurs in the Brazilian Amazon.
The climate responds slowly to changes in CO2 levels, so even if all
carbon emissions stopped today,
global temperatures would keep rising and other climate impacts would continue to be felt for decades or centuries to
come.
Chronic water stress could potentially reduce the
carbon sink of deciduous forests in the U.S. by as much as 17 percent in
coming decades, leading to a decrease in
carbon capture that translates to an additional one to three days of
global carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning each year, according to the paper, «Chronic water stress reduces tree growth and the
carbon sink of deciduous hardwood forests.»
Second, the best plan would do something about
carbon emissions regardless of where they
come from, which is why a
global strategy remains essential.
Clearly the United States (with roughly 23 % of
global CO2
emissions has some «splainin to do when it
comes to
carbon dioxide
emissions, so don't get us wrong, we aren't trying to pass the buck.
The other thing that I think is really important to watch is the possibility of a climate deal with China, and that could be really, really important, because you've basically got the two climate change superpowers finally
coming together on this, and if they created some kind of an agreement to limit
emissions, even that could have the de facto effect of creating a
global carbon price.
The pledge, if successfully implemented, would reduce
global emissions by between 4.5 billion and 8.8 billion tonnes of
carbon dioxide each year, and it
came with a promise of $ 1 billion in funding.
Today,
global emissions of
carbon dioxide (CO2)-- the principal climate - altering greenhouse gas —
come largely from burning coal, oil, and natural gas.
These are the folks who
came up with the Kyoto Protocols that were intended to reduce «greenhouse gas»
emissions, primarily
carbon dioxide (CO2), in order to save the Earth from becoming a crispy desert as the result of
global warming.
Choices regarding
emissions of other warming agents, such as methane, black
carbon on ice / snow, and aerosols, can affect
global warming over
coming decades but have little effect on longer - term warming of the Earth over centuries and millennia.
More gloom
came late last month, when the
Global Carbon Project, an international scientific group, reported that carbon emissions not only are increasing, but are increasing at a quickening pace, one that's likely to push global temperatures beyond the two - degrees barrier within just three de
Global Carbon Project, an international scientific group, reported that
carbon emissions not only are increasing, but are increasing at a quickening pace, one that's likely to push
global temperatures beyond the two - degrees barrier within just three de
global temperatures beyond the two - degrees barrier within just three decades.
Hansen and Sachs met with reporters here Tuesday (Dec. 3) in Columbia University's Low Library to discuss their study and their thoughts on the ongoing — and so far, largely ineffectual — effort to
come up with a
global plan to combat the problem of climate change and scale back
emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily
carbon dioxide.
But the drag
comes at a time when the U.S. (and the world) need to do more to reduce
carbon emissions and slow down that good old
global warming.
Deforestation and forest degradation contribute 15 to 20 percent of
global carbon emissions, and most of that contribution
comes from tropical regions.
This, well - duh, assessment,
came as pit mining cheerleaders such as the American Petroleum Institute and Canadian Industry groups marshaled yet another effort to ram the pipeline through and boost
global carbon emissions all in one go.
Global emissions of
carbon dioxide (CO2)-- the principal climate - altering greenhouse gas —
come largely from burning coal, oil, and natural gas.
Choices made in those parts of the world today, at the front end of growth, will influence the course of
global energy and
carbon emissions for decades to
come.
Considering the severe challenges posed to the
global climate system, to species, and to human civilizations by rampant
carbon emissions now in excess of 11 gigatons each year (nearly 50 gigatons CO2e each year), the new and increased availability of solar energy couldn't
come soon enough.
It would mean that
global carbon dioxide pollution from fossil fuels may decline after 2026, a contrast with the International Energy Agency's central forecast, which sees
emissions rising steadily for decades to
come.
He said a key moment will
come in 2015, the date when the world's governments have pledged to strike a
global deal to limit
carbon emissions.
When it
comes to fending off
global warming, the focus often is on harmful
carbon emissions from burning fossil [continue reading...]
Even as some utility executives are joining environmentalists in supporting controls on
carbon emissions, TXU is betting $ 10 billion on 11 new coal power plants that will produce huge amounts of
global warming gases for decades to
come.
What the EPA does not communicate clearly to the public, however, is that none of these health benefits
come from decreasing
carbon dioxide
emissions to avoid
global warming, but from coincidental benefits (or «co-benefits») from reducing other air pollutants which the EPA already heavily regulates.
That brings us to the second problem: Yes, swapping out coal for natural gas does reduce
carbon emissions initially, but in fact it ultimately doesn't help the planet avoid a rise of 2 degrees Celsius over the
coming decades, the limit scientists around the world say we must not exceed in order to prevent the worst impacts of
global warming.
The publicâ $ ™ s waning interest in
global warming poses a challenge for Mr. Obama, who emphasized climate change throughout his campaign and pledged to seek a cap on
emissions in the United States of heat - trapping gases, led by
carbon dioxide, which
come mainly from burning coal and oil.
President Barack Obama has instructed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to limit the
carbon coming from power plants — America's largest source of
global - warming
emissions.
The United States and China announced new goals for reducing their
global warming pollution in the
coming decades, with the U.S. ramping up its rate of decarbonization in five to 10 years and China promising that its
carbon emissions will peak in the next 15 years.
Greenhouse gas
emissions from coal, gas and oil combustion since the dawn of the 19th century and the
coming of the machine - age century have pushed
carbon dioxide ratios in the atmosphere from less than 300 parts per million to 400ppm everywhere, and
global average temperatures have risen by 1 °C.
That's how many countries are involved in negotiating a
global agreement to reduce
carbon emissions at the UN talks
coming up in Paris later this year.
It also
comes as world leaders have gathered in Paris to hash out a
global strategy to reduce
carbon emissions.
So, pupils are probably quite familiar with the main issues at stake in the
global warming debate such as where the excess
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
comes from, what might be done to reduce
emissions, and that the climatic consequences for Earth could be devastating.
Even in light of the recent policy work in the US energy sector, the ambitious goals and approaches to
carbon emissions reductions
coming out of
global climate summits, and an increasing awareness of the various environmental issues we're facing, any changes we're making in our habits, systems, and policies feel like they're too little, too late.
The first
comes in response to a shareholder vote last year that demanded Exxon publish the risks it faces if the world hits its
carbon -
emissions goal to limit
global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
There is no doubt that
carbon emissions are still rising and to add a gas that is 20 times more powerful as a
global warming gas into the air in sudden out - gassing events, even if these are only a few years apart, builds a step rise in
Carbon content in the atmosphere that will subsequently become the plateau before the next big methane out - gassing event, regardless as to where it
comes from.
Some argue that just the possibility that Hansen's worst case scenario
comes to pass — the «known unknown» scenario, to use former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's infamous idiom — is reason enough for policymakers to take bold steps at the Paris Summit to curtail
emissions of
global warming pollutants, such as
carbon dioxide.
It will only
come into force legally after it is ratified by at least 55 countries, which between them produce 55 % of
global carbon emissions.
While the SE4All objectives do not explicitly address climate change, it is clear that sustainable energy is a prerequisite for reducing greenhouse gas
emissions: 80 % of human
carbon dioxide
emissions come from the
global energy system, including transportation, buildings, industry, and electricity, heat, and fuel production.
«Our policy implication is that we have to have a
carbon fee and some of the major countries need to agree on that and if that were done it would be possible to actually get
global emissions to begin to
come down rapidly I think,» Hansen said.
Any substantial revision to the
carbon budget would have major implications, changing our ideas of how rapidly countries will need to ratchet down their greenhouse gas
emissions in
coming years and, thus, the very workings of
global climate policymaking.
Provided that the excess
carbon emissions came from activities that accelerated the decline of
global poverty (e.g., by enabling more of the
global poor to electrify their homes and businesses more quickly), such overshooting could help reduce the injustices associated with
global poverty without unjustly burdening future generations.