Growing Economies Not Pollution

For the last two years, we’ve done something that many supposed wasn’t possible: we’ve grown our global economy while not growing pollution. When the economy was reliant on fossil fuels, growth meant pollution because growth meant more energy usage. Last year, 90% of new energy installations were for renewables. It is encouraging to see how quickly people can shift – after a possibly too long delay. The economy grew 3%. Pollution dropped 1.5% in China and 2% in the US. Unfortunately, even such good news does not reverse climate change or global warming. We’re still progressing towards a 2 degree temperature increase, the agreed-upon threshold for accelerated climate change. Of course, we surprised ourselves with the rapid adoption of cleaner technologies, an adoption that that is only beginning. Maybe we can collectively demonstrate some wisdom.

(Click on the chart for the link.)

“Even As The Global Economy Grew Last Year, Carbon Emissions Didn’t” – Quartz