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by Nicolas Loris
December 11, 2015
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Speaking in Paris, Kerry said:
He's exactly right. � Paul Knappenberger and Patrick Michaels estimate that the climate regulations the Obama administration are imposing on the energy sector - costs that will be passed down to households - will avert a meager 0.018 degree Celsius of warming by the year 2100. � In fact, the U.S. could cut 100 percent of its CO2 emissions and it would not make a difference in global warming. � Using the same climate sensitivity modeling as the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world would only be 0.137 degree C cooler by 2100. � What's worse is that if you included 100 percent cuts from the entire industrialized world in their modeling, then you would only avert warming by 0.278 degree C by the turn of the century. � If Kerry got his wish, developing countries like India and China would play ball. But they're not going to and quite frankly, neither is the rest of the developing world and some parts of the developed world. � According to the Climate Action Tracker, there are plans to build more than 2,400 coal-fired power plants over the next 15 years. � That includes plants that have been announced, in the pre-permit stage, permitted or under construction. These countries want access to cheap and abundant energy, in order to provide their citizens with a stable current of electricity and to keep their economy growing. � Kerry got one point very wrong, however.
The administration has evolved their message on this issue,
Carbon dioxide is a colorless, non-toxic gas that does not have adverse impacts on human health. Calling CO2, carbon pollution, is deceiving the public. � But at least Kerry spoke clearly about the futility of any unilateral or multilateral plans to address global warming: � � � � � |
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