1. Joined
    31 May '06
    Moves
    1795
    12 Dec '15 01:39
    Originally posted by DeepThought
    Economic booms produce more carbon emissions.
    Do you have any evidence for this, or a reference? Everything I've heard is that pollution and emissions increase during recessions as the cheaper options are chosen and corners are cut.
    No, he is correct that [until possibly VERY recently] carbon emissions were linked to economic growth.

    A [big enough] recession reduces CO2 emissions.

    However this is because we use less energy in a recession and as that energy comes from
    fossil fuel burning we emit less CO2.
    As we move more and more to sustainable non-CO2 emitting power generation this will cease
    to be the case.

    http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/12/08/global_warming_co2_emission_dropped_globally_in_2015.html
  2. Joined
    06 Mar '12
    Moves
    642
    12 Dec '15 10:018 edits
    Originally posted by googlefudge
    No, he is correct that [until possibly VERY recently] carbon emissions were linked to economic growth.

    A [big enough] recession reduces CO2 emissions.

    However this is because we use less energy in a recession and as that energy comes from
    fossil fuel burning we emit less CO2.
    As we move more and more to sustainable non-CO2 emitting power ...[text shortened]... ate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/12/08/global_warming_co2_emission_dropped_globally_in_2015.html
    That link provides great news! -albeit with the global warming problem remaining very far from solved.
    So, we probably have already reached or at least almost reached peek global CO2 emissions rate and, not only that the world economy has actual grown slightly as our CO2 emissions, thanks to renewables, have gone down slightly! -proof that we don't need to increase CO2 emissions to have economic growth! And surely strong empirical evidence, as if any where needed (simple logic alone should suffice but that is apparently not good enough for same people here ), that it must be possible to have an economic boom while reducing our CO2 emissions.

    whodey: you should read that link. You might learn something, if you are willing.
  3. Cape Town
    Joined
    14 Apr '05
    Moves
    52945
    12 Dec '15 10:23
    Originally posted by humy
    So, we probably have already reached or at least almost reached peek global CO2 emissions rate .....
    Keeping firmly in mind of course that 'emissions rate' is not the same thing as 'total C02 in the atmosphere' - that is still climbing.
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