https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-07/coal-s-collapse-has-america-s-greenhouse-gas-emissions-falling
[It's about economics, not climate change mitigation. If you want to
succeed in a world run by neo-liberals, you have to use their tools to
your advantage. In short, protect subsidies for renewables and
dismantle subsidies for GHG-emitting energy and practices. The cracks
in Fortress Fossil Fuels are showing; it's time to drive in the wedges
and collapse the walls.
images in online article]
Coal’s Collapse Has America’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Falling
By Will Wade
January 7, 2020
Greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. slipped last year as coal-fired
power plants continue to close.
Across the U.S. economy, emissions that cause climate change fell an
estimated 2% in 2019, according to a report Tuesday from Rhodium Group.
It was wholly due to cuts in the electricity sector.
The decline underscores the limitations of U.S. President Donald Trump’s
pro-fossil fuel policies. While the White House has rolled back
environmental regulations and tried to keep coal plants open, utilities
are still shifting to cheaper and cleaner natural gas, wind and solar
plants. U.S. coal consumption plunged an estimated 18% in 2019, to the
lowest point since 1975.
“Coal plants are closing down and nobody is building new ones,” said
Trevor Houser, a partner with Rhodium Group, an independent research
firm and leading voice on emissions.
Getting Cleaner
U.S. greenhouse gas emissions have declined 13% since 2007
Annual emissions have fluctuated in recent years, including a sharp
uptick in 2018. But the general trend has been down, Houser said. U.S.
emissions have declined about 13% since 2007.
Electricity generation accounts for about 30% of total U.S. emissions.
Greenhouse gases from cars, trucks and the rest of the transportation
sector were flat in 2019. Emissions from agriculture and industry
increased slightly.
“The good news is that we’re making a lot of progress on electricity,”
Houser said “There’s a lot more work to do in other sectors of the economy.”
(Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the
parent company of Bloomberg News, has committed $500 million to launch
Beyond Carbon, a campaign aimed at closing the remaining coal-powered
plants in the U.S. by 2030 and slowing the construction of new gas plants.)
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