Climate Finance
Cuts by the U.S. and China emission helped keep global carbon dioxide emissions steady for the third straight year.
The world’s two largest CO2 emitters are making steep course corrections: a three percent cut from the U.S. and a one percent cut from China, according to the International Energy Agency.
The cuts came from the displacement of coal by cleaner fuels in both countries. In the U.S., gas power exceeded coal power for the first time, while coal demand dropped 11 percent.
Significantly, global growth is increasingly decoupling from carbon emissions. The global economy grew 3.1 percent (and the U.S. and Chinese economies grew 1.6 percent and 6.7 percent respectively).
The IEA’s Fatih Birol said three years of flat emissions in a growing economy signal that “market dynamics and technological improvements matter.”
This post originally appeared in ImpactAlpha’s daily newsletter. Get The Brief.
Photo credit: Alexandre Buisse
