New Energy Is Saving The World

New study upends conventional thinking about what’s driving down carbon emissions; Study comes on the heels of a Bloomberg New Energy Finance report that highlighted a similar trend.

Mark Hand, February 28, 2018 (ThinkProgress)

“…[R]enewable energy resources were as important as natural gas in driving down carbon dioxide emissions in the United States over a seven-year period beginning in 2007…U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions dropped roughly 10 percent between 2007 and 2013. Renewables contributed between a fourth and a third of this reduction. Switching from coal to gas in the power sector and changes in energy demand played similar roles in emissions reductions over that period…[After rising steadily from 1990 to 2007, energy-related CO2 emissions started a sharp turn downward in 2207] and, by 2013, annual CO2 emissions had decreased by 10 percent. Over this same period, total renewable energy capacity increased significantly in the United States [according to Factoring in the Forgotten Role of Renewables in CO2 Emission Trends Using Decomposition Analysis, which affirms the findings of] a Bloomberg New Energy Finance report, which found that in 2017 renewable energy and energy efficiency were the primary drivers behind a drop in power sector emissions, which helped drive overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to their lowest levels since 1991…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet