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Why This Matters: These trends need to both be heading down — even if our greenhouse gas emissions fell slightly, we need to make deeper emissions cuts to stop the global temperatures from spiral even higher in the 20s. We need to build on and rapidly expand the successes of 2019 emissions reductions into other sectors and globally. There is no time to waste — which is crystal clear now as we take in the decade’s temperature spike, as the chart above makes patently obvious.
“Power generation is one-fourth of the overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.”
But, but, but — “the energy sector was the only sector of the US economy that significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions in 2019.”
Emissions from other sectors of the economy, such as “transportation, buildings, industry, and agriculture either were roughly flat or even rose slightly.”
Greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. were 2.1% higher in 2018 than in 2019.
“The five warmest years on record have all occurred in the last 5 years.”
“Globally, the calendar year 2019 was 0.59°C warmer than the 1981–2010 average.”
“2016 is the warmest calendar year on record, with a global temperature 0.63°C above that for 1981–2010.
“The third warmest calendar year, 2017, had a temperature 0.54°C above average.”
Bottom Line: According to CNN, across the globe, “nearly every region experienced above-average temperatures in 2019, but Europe, Australia, southern Africa, and the Arctic felt particularly hot temperatures that were well above normal.”
As Former Secretary of State John Kerry looked to assemble an all-star team to support him in his new Climate Special Envoy role, there was one person he wanted by his side — Sue Biniaz. The Former Deputy Legal Adviser at the State Department, who left the agency after the Trump administration took office, knows the Paris Agreement inside and out.
By Dr. Julio Friedmann As Congress prepares major climate legislation and President Biden looks to take more executive action, net-zero emissions has become the science-based star of the show. That show features a climate solution that is often overlooked – undiscovered and waiting in the wings. Carbon dioxide removal (CDR), which pulls carbon dioxide (CO2) […]
by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer UN Climate Change has published the Initial NDC Synthesis Report, which evaluated information from 75 parties to the Paris agreement representing 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The results: “governments are nowhere close to the level of ambition needed to limit climate change to 1.5 degrees and meet the […]
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