Many nations
consider their
energy policies
to be
encouraging
renewables.
Mainly wind
and solar.
And encouraging
purchses of
electric cars.
But there has been
little success
in reducing global
CO2 emissions.
U.S. EU and
Japan combined,
reduced CO2
emissions by 5%
since 2005.
Emissions had been
slowly rising between
1981 and 2005.
Peak CO2 emissions
for the Soviet Empire
were in 1990.
By 1999,
CO2 emissions
for the same
batch of nations,
were down 37%
from 1990.
China and India
ramped up
manufacturing and
other heavy industry
in the late 1990s,
and early 2000s.
Meaning more
CO2 emissions.
Population from
1965 to 2018,
based on a
2019 UN estimate:
Population was flat
in the former Soviet Empire
( 2% growth from 1997 and 2018 ).
US, EU and
Japan combined
grew by 11%
between
1997 and 2018.
A growing
population
also increases
CO2 emissions.
Falling real oil prices
are too low for producers
to stay profitable, and invest
more in oil production.:
Renewables sound good,
but don’t live up to the hype.
Wind, solar, hydroelectric,
geothermal, and others
are called “renewables”.
Their infrastructure and
equipment are built with
the use of fossil fuels.
When total system costs
are counted, renewables
are very expensive.
Total system costs
include back-up
natural gas generators,
and/or
expensive batteries.
After at least 20 years
of subsidies, the EU
has been able to increase
renewables (other than
hydroelectric) to only about
10% of total energy supply.
Coal is causing
ground-level pollution
in China and India.
But without growing coal
production, world GDP
growth starts slowing.
IPCC climate model
predictions assume
fossil fuel use
can grow indefinitely.
And coal
production
will continue
at a high level
for many years,
even though world
coal production
has been flat
for several years?
The push toward
more renewables
makes no sense
when including the
costs of new
transmission lines
to distant wind
and solar farm
locations, and
the very expensive
battery backup.