• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
  FEATURED
UAE Briefing Targets Canada for LNG Deals During COP28 Climate Discussions November 28, 2023
Ottawa Pivots to Subsidize CCUS Projects that Use Captured CO2 to Extract More Oil November 28, 2023
Canada Commits $7B to Carbon Contracts For Difference November 28, 2023
‘LIKE THE TITANIC’: Climate Risk Estimates Shipwrecked by Neglect of Science November 28, 2023
Alberta Fossils Undercount Methane by 50% as Ottawa Touts New Rules November 28, 2023
Next
Prev

China-US links can spark emissions breakthrough

October 29, 2014
Reading time: 3 minutes
Primary Author: Kieran Cooke

New research suggests that global emission reduction targets are achievable if China and the US – the world’s worst emitters of greenhouse gases − work together to reduce pollution levels. LONDON, 29 October, 2014 – Tentative steps have been taken by China and the US towards co-operating on climate change − mainly focusing on relatively modest technological schemes connected with more efficient and less polluting power generation. But a new report calls on the two countries to be far more ambitious, and says that if the two adopt global best practice on climate change policy, total global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) would be radically reduced, and the goal of limiting the global average temperature rise to 2˚C by 2050 could be achieved. Limiting the temperature rise to 2˚C above pre-industrial levels by 2050 is considered to be essential if catastrophic climate change is to be averted, although some in the scientific community have questioned the relevance of having such a target. The new report − a collaboration between the Ecofys energy consultancy, the Climate Analytics research group and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) – says that, together, China and the US are responsible for about 35% of global GHG emissions.

Right pathway

“If they scale up action to adopt the most ambitious policies from across the world, they would both be on the right pathway to keep warming below 2˚C,” says Bill Hare, senior scientist at PIK. “This needs to include dramatically reducing their use of coal, in order to achieve the deep decarbonisation needed in getting CO2 emissions from coal back to 1990 levels by 2030.” The report compares the actions of both countries in their most energy intensive sectors – electricity production, buildings and transport.

  • Be among the first to read The Energy Mix Weekender
  • A brand new weekly digest containing exclusive and essential climate stories from around the world.
  • The Weekender:The climate news you need.
Subscribe
  • Electricity usage per head in the US is four times that in China. In both countries, emissions from the electricity sector have been reduced, but more coal plants are planned. If both increased the share of renewables in the sector by 1.3% per year – a rate achieved by Germany and the UK since 2005 – it would make a considerable difference to overall emissions levels.
  • China’s cement plants are more energy efficient than those in the US, but the situation is reversed with iron and steel plants. Lower emissions could be achieved if both countries adopted the best available technology.
  • Car ownership is 10 times higher in the US than in China, though the difference is narrowing. China implements stronger emissions standards. If both countries moved to global best practice in the sector − such as adopting EU emissions standards, or working towards a greater take-up of electric cars, such as in Norway − then lower overall emissions levels could be achieved.
  • “Massive reductions” in emissions could be achieved if China and the US adopted EU building standards governing heat and energy. The use of energy in residential buildings in the US is three times as high as in China.

The report concludes that if both countries agree to adopt global best practice across all these sectors, then China could reduce its overall emissions by 1.2% by 2020 and by 20% by 2030, while the US would reduce its emissions by 3.2% by 2020 and 16% by 2030. – Climate News Network



in Climate News Network

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

Ben Wall/Wikimedia Commons
Ice Loss & Sea Level Rise

Most Glaciers Would Be Lost at 2.0°C, Scientists Warn

November 20, 2023
64
moerschy / Pixabay
Biodiversity & Habitat

Planetary Weight Study Shows Humans Taking Most of Earth’s Resources

March 19, 2023
56
U.S. Geological Survey/wikimedia commons
Biodiversity & Habitat

Climate Change Amplifies Risk of ‘Insect Apocalypse’

December 1, 2022
70

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

Pxfuel

Coal Giants Teck, Glencore Plan Exit as Trade Group Pitches Ludicrous Clean Rebrand

November 28, 2023
120
Untrakdrover/Wikimedia Commons

Portugal Runs All-Renewable Grid for 6 Days Straight

November 23, 2023
919
Junktuner/wikimedia commons

UAE Briefing Targets Canada for LNG Deals During COP28 Climate Discussions

November 28, 2023
73
McDonald's/flickr

McDonald’s Failing to Follow Through on Climate Promises, Critics Say

December 17, 2021
3.9k
Unsplash/Pixabay

‘LIKE THE TITANIC’: Climate Risk Estimates Shipwrecked by Neglect of Science

November 28, 2023
39
Monkeyboy0076/Wikimedia Commons

70% Chance of Emissions Reduction in 2024 Marks ‘Crucial Inflection Point’, Analysts Say

November 25, 2023
549

Recent Posts

Sask Power/flickr

Ottawa Pivots to Subsidize CCUS Projects that Use Captured CO2 to Extract More Oil

November 28, 2023
33
/State Sites of Ukraine

Canada Commits $7B to Carbon Contracts For Difference

November 28, 2023
32
EcoAnalytics

Canada Needs a Big Climate Win, Tied to Affordability

November 28, 2023
24
2happy/StockVault

Alberta Fossils Undercount Methane by 50% as Ottawa Touts New Rules

November 28, 2023
17
jasonwoodhead23/flickr

Suncor Reports Another Spill After AER Declines to Rethink Fort Hill Expansion

November 28, 2023
20
George Socka/Wikimedia Commons

GTHA Emissions Rise 8%, Gas Plant Pollution Up 56% in Two Years, Despite Clean, Affordable Alternatives

November 23, 2023
139
Next Post

Insurance industry sleeps through climate alarm calls

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
The Energy Mix - Energy Central
Climate & Capital PrimaryLogo_FullColor
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance

Copyright 2023 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}

We’re glad you’re here!

But with web platforms blocking Canadian news, you may not always be able to find us. Subscribe today and never miss another story from The Energy Mix.

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE

Learn more about news throttling and Bill C-18

We’re glad you’re here!

But with web platforms blocking Canadian news, you may not always be able to find us. Subscribe today and never miss another story from The Energy Mix.

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE

Learn more about news throttling and Bill C-18

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need