U.S. (And Others) Are Failing To Meet Climate Change Goals

The chart above is from a new report by the Stockholm Environment Institute and the United Nations Environment Programme. It shows a very disturbing fact -- that the nations of the world (including the United States) are not doing enough to curb the disaster of global climate change that is looming.

The dark blue line at the bottom of the chart reflects the global fossil fuel emissions that would be necessary to keep global climate change down to 1.5 degrees Celsius (about 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). That is what would be needed to keep global climate change in check.

The green line right above it is what would be needed to keep the climate change to no more than 2 degrees Celsius. This would minimize the climate damage -- and it is what the Paris Accords agreed was necessary.

The nations of the world are failing to meet either level. The brown line is what fossil fuel emissions will be if the nations all meet the goals they have said they would do. Note that it's far above the emissions level needed to meet either goal.

But it gets even worse. The red line at the top shows the emissions that will happen because many nations have actually increased their production of fossil fuels. One of the worst offenders is the United States. It has actually increased production -- even though it was already second in coal production and first in production of oil/gas (and is on pace to produce 60% of newly-tapped oil and gas).

But the U.S. is not the only nation that will not meet the emission goals they agreed to meet. Also projected to exceed their goals are China, Russia, India, Australia, Indonesia, Canada, Germany, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

The United States may be the worst offender. Donald Trump withdrew it from the Paris Accords, and it no longer even makes a pretense of meeting the goals it had set while in the Paris Accord. But other nations are failing also.

It has become obvious that politicians are not going to do what's necessary to control climate change. It is up to the citizens of the world to demand the change that is needed. And it must start with the defeat of Donald Trump (and other climate change deniers) in the United States in the 2020 election.

If the United States refuses to do what is necessary to control global climate change, it just gives other nations an excuse to also fail.