Economic growth no longer means an increase in carbon dioxide emissions

energy policy

The world has moved away from the old truth that increased growth comes with increased emissions. This is what The Economist writes in a comprehensive compilation of emissions trends in rich and poor countries.

It was an important part in the Industrial Revolution when, in 1709, Abraham Darby discovered in the West English village of Coalbrookdale that fossil coal from nearby mines worked better in smelters than coal was commonly used.

It was also the beginning of global warming, which has long increased in tandem with the prosperity of countries. But that’s an old fact now, as you notice The Economist She points to figures from the Global Carbon Project.

33 countries have now reduced carbon dioxide emissions while maintaining GDP growth. Three-fifths of these countries are European, but other examples include the United States, Australia, Israel, Argentina, Mexico, and Uruguay. In Mexico, for example, emissions have fallen 16 percent since their peak in 2012. The stats also include emissions of imported goods.

If regional emissions are counted, they have decreased significantly in many European countries such as Sweden and Great Britain. In Great Britain, regional emissions peaked in 1970.

Part of the reason is that countries that have now taken over the production of goods that are exported to rich countries are becoming more efficient at producing them. For example, China’s exports of carbon dioxide emissions peaked at 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2008. In 2019, the corresponding figure fell to 1 billion tons, according to The Economist.

One reason for climate optimism is that poorer countries are industrializing differently than their predecessors.

Data from the Global Carbon Project, for example, shows that the host country of COP 27, Egypt, peaked in carbon dioxide emissions in 2017. India and Vietnam, which are becoming increasingly important exporters as trade shifts away from China, Greener than their competitors. . In 2007, when China was as rich as India is today, it emitted about twice as much carbon dioxide. This is despite the fact that India and Vietnam are still full of coal. The difference is how effective they are used, writes The Economist.

The Economist: Economic growth no longer means an increase in carbon emissions