Ryan Pollin for Zondits, June 5, 2015. Image credit: Avivlirangal
California research nonprofit Next 10 has benchmarked a number of climate change-related statistics, and found a new way to quantify global leaders and laggers. Of the fifty largest greenhouse gas-emitting nations, the United States ranks #1 in clean technology investment, #1 in total renewable generation, and #1 in electric vehicle sales, but #15 in share of total electricity from renewables, 16th in carbon intensity (emissions per GDP), and #44 in energy use per capita.
Additionally (and worth its own big celebration), founder F. Noel Perry shares, “Some of the world’s largest economies are now decoupling economic growth and energy use, actually growing their GDPs while shrinking their carbon footprints. Last year marked the first time we’ve been able to say conclusively that a drop in global carbon emissions was caused by something other than an economic downturn.”
Perry and company hope that these statistics inform the international climate conversation leading up to the Paris climate talks this December.
U.S. Leads World in Clean Tech Innovation, Investment & Electric Vehicles, Earns Poor Marks for High Energy Consumption & Emissions
PR Newswire, May 18, 2015
In advance of the historic United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) inParis this year, a new report for the first time analyzes and ranks the economic and energy performance of the world’s 50 largest greenhouse gas emitting nations.
Next 10’s Green Innovation Index, International Edition charts country GDP, emissions, energy productivity, renewable energy generation, clean tech investments and other key metrics. The United States ranks as among the world’s top countries in clean tech investments, patents, renewable energy generation and electric vehicle (EV) adoption. At the same time it is among the world’s worst for energy consumption and emissions. Over the last two decades, however, the U.S. has become more energy productive, using less energy per dollar of GDP generated.
This week marks the kick off of Climate Week in Paris—a historic gathering of worldwide business and policy leaders. Through events like the Business & Climate Summit at the UNESCO offices in Paris, leaders will highlight business and policy solutions for decarbonizing the economy. These events come in the wake of the International Energy Agency’s announcement suggesting that the process of decoupling economic growth from GHG emissions is already underway, since the global economy grew in 2014 but carbon emissions did not. The Business & Climate Summit is one of a string of international events building momentum towards a climate agreement at a key UN Climate Summit to be held later this year, also in Paris.