US leads Europe in CO2 reduction and will continue to do so without cap and trade, CO2 tax, etc., say Yale 360 authors

"In Europe, they note, emissions are not falling."...

5/6/12, "US Leads EU in CO2 Reductions," Walter Russell Mead, American Interest

"Is cap and trade a crock?

Maverick environmentalists Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus make that claim in a piece that appears at the invaluable NewGeography.com. They point out that CO2 emissions in the US have been in decline since 2005, and that while the recession has ‘helped’, emissions are now projected to decline through the rest of the decade.

That is without a carbon tax, without a cap and trade system, and without mandatory, Kyoto style limits and a global carbon treaty. In Europe, they note, emissions are not falling — and Germany is even moving back to coal.

What made the difference?

The revolution in natural gas. Natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel than, for example, coal and the natural gas bonanza in the US is making cleaner energy sources cheaper than their rivals."...

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4/21/12, "Why Emissions Are Declining in the U.S. But Not in Europe," by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus





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