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CO2 Emissions Rose for the First Time in 4 Years (vice.com)
Human emissions of carbon dioxide have gone up for the first time since 2013, according to the UN's ninth annual Emissions Gap Report, meaning the world isn't on track to mitigate the worst of climate change's already disastrous effects. From the report: The report, published on Tuesday, says that while carbon emissions stayed relatively level between 2014 and 2016, carbon emissions in 2017 went up by 1.2 percent. Composed by climate scientists using the most up-to-date scientific data, the report aims to determine whether we're on track to meet the goals set by international climate agreements, such as the 2015 Paris Climate Accord. The "emissions gap" is the difference between how low our emissions need to be, and where they actually are. The UN report concludes that the world isn't hitting the emissions targets necessary to curb warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. While the goal is not impossible, it's unlikely to be met under current political conditions, which have rendered us unable to take significant action against climate change for more than half a century. "According to the current policy and [Nationally Determined Contributions] scenarios, global emissions are not estimated to peak by 2030, let alone by 2020," the report reads. "As the emissions gap assessment shows, this original level of ambition needs to be roughly tripled for the 2C scenario and increased around fivefold for the 1.5C scenario."
Carbon reduction is hard, there are often a lot of steps which are counter intuitive
For example it takes less carbon to ship Apple from China to California then it does from New York to California. Mainly because cargo ships use less fuel per ton of goods then shipping via semi-truck.
Then we have the Automobile guilt. While your home (in most climates) is polluting more then your car.
To fix this solution we need real leadership who is willing to realize the problem is more then just solar panels, wind turbines and electric cars. It is taking a look at all our energy usage finding wastes and inefficiencies. Making sure businesses are playing by the same sets of rules globally just so we don't offset our emissions to an other country, because they will undercut our price.
Such issues is too complex for average Joe Sixpack to deal with, or even an Latte drinking hipster. It will require a global change with everyone playing by the same rules, and firm penalties for anyone who wants to cheat the system.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
According to the chart on page 9 the US is doing pretty well.
Yet somehow China which has 27% of global emissions and went up 17% is marked as "on track to meet the targets under current policies".
Those targets must not be very serious
Seriously? Why the hell should people in Canada be able to release nearly 21 tons of GHG/person while you criticize India at 2.28 or China at 8. I live in Ottawa Canada, we might have the worst urban planning anywhere. The city almost entirely white collar jobs, young and educated. 95% the new housing in the last 20 years has been sprawling urban car dependent neighbourhoods. You have to have a car here. Half my neighbours have never walked to a store, hair cut or recreational facility in the entire time they have lived here. It's just not possible. People use their front yards for piling snow and the back yards for dogs to shit in. Kids can't walk to school because we don't have sidewalks and the snow banks and parked cars would mean walking in the middle of the road. Buses don't work because the streets aren't on a grid so there are no good places to put a stop. We have tens of thousands of office jobs in my neighbourhood and no one can walk to work. The offices are surrounded by seas of parking so wide everyone has to drive to go for lunch. It's actually terrible for our physical and mental health. Having kids in the suburbs should qualify as child abuse.
You want to fix climate change, bulldoze the suburbs with your politicians still there.