U.S. carbon emissions are improving
How do we compare carbon emissions in places that are very different? Shanghai has a dense population with thick smog. Alaskans produce more carbon per person than Shanghai, but they have much cleaner air.
I believe there are three valid measurements of carbon emissions: by population, by land area, and by the size of the economy. These measures will determine who has cleaner citizens, who has a cleaner country, and who has a cleaner economy.
I selected the 30 nations with the highest total carbon emissions (totaling 82 percent of world carbon emissions). I ranked them by carbon emissions per person, per area, and per GDP. These three rankings were weighted equally and averaged into one composite ranking.
Using this comprehensive measure, the ten worst carbon polluters are (in order): United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Malaysia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. Besides China, who produces over twice as much carbon as the U.S., we don’t hear much in the news about how dirty these other countries are.
The U.S. came out in the middle, at 15th. The E.U. is not a nation, but it would be almost the same as the U.S.
The change in carbon emissions over time is also important. Reports are that the U.S. carbon emissions dropped by 0.4 percent in 2017. China increased by 3.5 percent The world increased by 2 percent. Europe declined, but not as much as the U.S.
President Trump pulled us from the Paris Agreement because he considered the agreement unfair to the U.S. Nevertheless, the U.S. is still leading the way in reducing carbon emissions.
I hope and expect that we will continue to voluntarily reduce our carbon footprint. I also hope that these dirtier nations will feel motivated to clean up.
Mark Beeksma
Koloa
