Study: U.S. Leads World In Reducing CO2 Emissions, While Paris Accord Nations Break Promises

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ByJAMES BARRETT

August 22, 2018 

 100.8k views

Despite obviously hating the environment and doing everything we can to bring about its fiery destruction, including pulling out of the Paris Agreement on climate change last year, the United States has miraculously managed to do pretty well in curbing CO2. In fact, the anti-environment USA is doing better than any other country that signed the accord, including all of Europe and our neighbor to the north.

In a piece for The Washington Times, Heritage Foundation senior fellow Stephen Moore points to recent data showing that despite all the condemnation of the U.S. from other self-styled pro-environment countries, America is doing the most to curb carbon emissions.

One of the studies Moore cites is BP's new "Statistical Review of World Energy," which notes that the U.S. led the world in carbon emissions declines in 2017, the ninth time it's done so this century:

Declines were led by the US (-0.5%). This is the ninth time in this century that the US has had the largest decline in emissions in the world. This also was the third consecutive year that emissions in the US declined, though the fall was the smallest over the last three years.

Carbon emissions from energy use from the US are the lowest since 1992, the year that the UNFCCC came into existence. The next largest decline was in Ukraine (-10.1%).

America's -0.5% reduction is particularly impressive in light of our nearly 3% economic growth in 2017. "The major reason for the reduced pollution levels is the shale oil and gas revolution that is transitioning the world to cheap and clean natural gas for electric power generation," Moore writes.

Moore notes that America was able to make this progress despite never signing the Kyoto Protocol, never enacting a carbon tax, refusing to impose a "cap and trade" carbon emission program, and "that environmental villain Donald Trump pull[ing] America out of the Paris climate accord."

So America is doing pretty well on its own. But how's Europe doing? Not great overall. BP's study found that European Union emissions were up overall (1.5%), "with just Spain accounting for 44% of the increase in EU emissions." The UK and Denmark, however, did report their lowest carbon emissions yet, though still not matching the U.S.

As The Daily Wire's Emily Zanotti previously noted of the report's findings, "Canada, Spain, the European Union, and China — all signatories to the infamous Paris Climate Accords negotiated by the United Nations — saw significant increases in carbon dioxide emissions. China released 120 million more tons of carbon dioxide into the air in 2017 than in 2016. The EU made up for America's decline, releasing 40 million more tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere."

The worst emissions offenders were China and India. Here's more from BP's report (formatting adjusted):

The largest increase in carbon emissions in 2017 came from China (1.6%), a reversal from the past three years when the largest increases in emissions came from India. China’s emissions in 2017 were 0.3% higher than the previous peak in 2014. China has had the world’s largest increments in carbon emission every year this century except in four years – 2000 and between 2014-16. The next highest increment came from India where emissions rose by 4.4%, though lower than its 10-year average (6% p.a.). Together, China and India accounted for nearly half of the increase in global carbon emissions.

India's increase in emissions more than doubles the U.S.'s reduction in 2017, while China produces some 28% of the world's CO2 emissions, the Institute for Energy Research found.

Arguing that Trump was right to pull out of the accord, Moore provides data showing that "nearly every nation that signed on to the Paris Accord and has admonished America for not getting in, has already broken its promises."

Not a single EU nation is within 80 percent of its respective target for emission reduction, according to Climate Action Network Europe (CANE). In its official EU report, CANE said “All EU countries are failing to increase their climate action in line with the Paris Agreement goal.” All but five countries aren’t even at 50 percent of their current targets.