Interesting stats on EVs and energy use in the US, developments in wind and tidal power, a plastic recycling microfactory, and an "unprecedented collapse" in EU fossil fuel generation.
Check out this Yale Climate Connections article about the progress the world has made on climate change since 2015. The author, Dana Nuccitelli, says that thanks to the policies enacted by countries to achieve the pledges they made at COP 21 in Paris, we are already on a much better track than we were 8 years ago.
I especially appreciated this part:
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As a result of new climate policies and this clean technology growth, the International Energy Agency now projects that global climate pollution in 2030 will be about 7.5 billion tons (or nearly 20%) lower than in the pre-Paris agreement pathway. Based on current climate policies around the world, various groups estimate that we’re now on track for around 2.5°C (4.5°F) global warming by 2100.
On the one hand, that’s not yet good enough to meet the target set in the Paris agreement. On the other hand, climate policies and clean technologies deployed over just the past eight years have already erased a full degree Celsius of global warming from the future world in 2100.
The article provides a decent overview of the advances we’ve seen in renewables and EV adoption and does a good job of demonstrating how policy-making at the international and national levels can be an effective impetus for change.
Of course, there is still SO much more to be done – but it’s good to see that a shift is happening! Here’s hoping we’ll have much more progress to celebrate when looking back on COP 28 eight years from now.
