Who has the most gas?
Page November 14th, 2007
CO2 emissions, that is.
Countries with highest CO2-emitting power sectors (tonnes per year). Click to enlarge. |
A very short article in Nature news tells all:
The city of Taichung in Taiwan is home to a power plant that emits more than 37 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, the highest of any plant in the world. Australia produces more carbon dioxide per capita through electricity generation than any other nation. But the US power sector still produces the most carbon dioxide in terms of sheer volume.
The data come from a soon-to-be public database established by the Center for Global Development, who argues that such emission data be made public because:
We cannot wait for national policymakers to break this deadlock [regarding emissions limitations], because many are hamstrung by powerful, organized constituencies that fear the cost of adjusting to a low-carbon future. At the same time, a potentially-dominant constituency awaits mobilization in developed countries, as well as in China, India and other developing nations. Hundreds of millions of concerned global citizens can promote climate-friendly products and technologies as consumers, investors, shareholders, managers and workers. All they need to act is timely, accurate, publicly-available information about the choices they face. To meet this challenge, CGD will launch a global, web-based initiative that will promote carbon emissions reduction using public disclosure techniques that have significantly reduced conventional pollution in both developed and developing countries.
The Carbon Monitoring for Action website is not yet available for perusal. [Update: yes, it is. Click here.] According to the Nature article, the database it provides will “[contain] emissions and energy data from more than 4,000 power companies and 50,000 power plants around the globe”. I’m looking forward to seeing the site, and am hoping that my Greenpeace friends will be able to decipher how “legit” it is. It’s not a climate change denier haven, but at the same time, I’m wondering how much of a free market leaning they have. I hope the database is accurate. At first glance, it sure looks like the stats are at least qualitatively right. [Another update: see Kevin Ummel’s comment below for more on the site.]
I like transparency. I wish we had more of it. And I love action, so… take some! Click the little guy, and join the energy [r]evolution.
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The website mentioned above is now available to the public at www.carma.org. As one of the developers of the Carbon Monitoring for Action (CARMA) database at the Center for Global Development, and I want to thank you for mentioning the site. I encourage everyone to have a look.
CARMA is all about transparency, action, and the best available information. Whether you believe that the market or government should take the lead in addressing climate change, we first need to have the goods on the emissions, corporate ownership, and future plans of the power sector. CARMA helps on all fronts. And we hope that CARMA’s user community is an active one. The site solicits feedback and reactions — so please, get in there and get busy. We want to know how you’re using the data to help reduce emissions. Thanks!
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for stopping by - that was fast!
Yeah, as far as I could tell, that’s what it was about, and that’s why I’m impressed. I’ll update my post with your site, and bookmark it (as well as share it with all my energy and environmentalist contacts).
I think I’ll cross-post this at dailyKos.com as a diary (not on the front page, maybe later), so you’ll get a ton of hits and feedback, hopefully.
If you would like to talk more, my public e-mail is plutoniumpage@dailykos.com. I need to add a contact form to this site sometime soon!