International Energy Agency Announces Pleasant Surprise Re: Greenhouse Gas Emissions 

My wife was speaking with her favorite cousin the other day and the topic of environmentalism and renewable energy came up.  The cousin said, “You know that stuff Craig’s been doing for all these years?  It’s actually starting to work!  Be sure to tell him that.”

I had to smile, partially because it could be taken to imply that not everything I do actually works.  God knows that’s true.  But more to the point, the good guys actually are starting to win this war.  Of course, this is the central point in “Bullish on Renewable Energy,” but the entire world seems to be aware that our civilization, unexpectedly, may have gotten its arms around GHG emissions.  From an article in the Huffington Post:

Solar, wind and other renewables are making such a big difference in greenhouse gas emissions worldwide that global emissions from the energy sector flatlined during a time of economic growth for the first time in 40 years.

The International Energy Agency announced Friday that energy-related CO2 emissions last year were unchanged from the year before, totaling 32.3 billion metric tons of CO2 in both 2013 and 2014. It shows that efforts to reduce emissions to combat climate change may be more effective than previously thought.

“This is both a very welcome surprise and a significant one,” IEA Chief Economist and incoming IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement. “It provides much-needed momentum to negotiators preparing to forge a global climate deal in Paris in December. For the first time, greenhouse gas emissions are decoupling from economic growth.

Time to celebrate.  Then it’s time to get back to work, and ensure we take advantage of the forward thrust we seem to have going here.