The Futulity of Controlling Emissions

Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions jumped 2.4% in 2010, despite pouring billions into renewable energy.

According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), Germany, Poland, and Great Britain are responsible for 56% of the increase. Finland, Sweden, and Austria also posted large emissions increases. (1) Three countries that have crashed economically, Greece, Spain and Portugal, had large emissions savings. Could this be the clue to reducing emissions? Economic catastrophe equals reduced emissions! The increase of 2.4% takes Europe further away from its international commitments to cut carbon dioxide by 2020, and runs counter to advice from climate scientists who say that global emissions must peak by 2020 if climate change is not to become catastrophic and irreversible. (2) The folks who make this scary claim apparently have not looked at what’s happening in the rest of the world, particularly in China and India. Regardless, of what Europe, the United States and the rest of the developed world accomplishes, China and India alone will offset any gains made in emissions.

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Worldwide, coal consumption has increased by almost 50% over the last ten years alone

Worldwide, coal consumption has increased by almost 50% over the last ten years alone. Such a rash increase has never been seen before. China and India alone account for 90 percent of this increase. At 42.8%, almost half of the world’s coal consumption is by China. And if that isn’t high enough, plans by China’s leadership provide for a coal power expansion of 600 gigawatts by the year 2035. Also, in western countries, coal consumption increased in the year 2010 by 5.2%, the most since 1979. (3) For China alone, projections put this country’s emissions in 2030 in the range of 500% above 1990 levels. Globally, this translates to about 40% of all new energy-related CO2 emissions between now and 2030. If China’s emissions continue to grow at the rate of 10% per year, by the year 2040 it could be emitting as much CO2 as the entire world is today. (4) For those who argue that China is investing in renewables, a sobering statistic is that China’s overall energy use has skyrocketed with its growth, keeping renewable sources just a sliver of the country’s overall share. For example, solar power accounts for only one-hundredth of 1 percent of China’s electricity generation. (5) So, investments in renewables, while ethically sensible, will have little effect of reducing world-wide emissions. For example, Bjorn Lomborg calculates that Germany’s 130 billion solar panel subsidies will have postponed temperature increases by 23 hours over the next 20 years. In other words, Germans have paid $130 billion for a climate-change policy that has no impact on global warming. They have subsidized Chinese jobs and other European Countries’ reliance on dirty energy sources and have needlessly burdened their economy. (6) References

1. P. Gossselin, “Despite tens of billions spent of renewables and steeper energy prices, Europe’s CO2 output climbs,” notrickszone.com, May 31, 2012
2. EU emissions rise despite climate change policies,” euractive.com, May 30, 2012
3. P. Gosselin, “It’s the dawn of life-saving coal: 2010 consumption jumped 5.4%--most since 1979,” notrickszone.com, October 7, 2011
4. China Environment Series, Issue 11, 2010/2011, Jennifer L. Turner, Editor, Woodrow Wilson International School for Scholars, Page 8
5. Cheryl K. Chumley, “Chinese solar companies losing money,” Environment & Climate News, 15, 12, February 2012
6. Bjorn Lomborg, “Germany’s sunshine daydream,” project-syndicate.org, February 16, 2012