Suzanne Goldenberg writes in The Guardian giving some good news though nearly not as much as we need.
New Bloomberg report states Energy-saving technologies and a doubling in renewables led to the reduction in climate pollution
Carbon dioxide emissions fell by 13% in the past five years, because of new energy-saving technologies and a doubling in the take-up of renewable energy, the report compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEE) for the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) said.
The reduction in climate pollution – even as Congress failed to act on climate change – brings America more than halfway towards Barack Obama's target of cutting emissions by 17% from 2005 levels over the next decade, the Bloomberg analysts said.
The Obama Administration's stealth moves to reduce carbon emissions through executive and agency action have the US in a major shift in energy production. Coal fell to just 18.1% of America's energy mix last year, down from 22.5% in 2007. Oil use also declined.
Lisa Jacobson, president of the BCSE, said the Bloomberg findings exposed the conservative argument that acting on climate change would be a drag on the economy. Instead, carbon emissions declined even as GDP was going up, she noted.
This success gives us some momentum with the Obama Administration's new
focus on climate change and the confirmation of Climate Hawk
John Kerry as Secretary of State.