Global Carbon Emissions are Flat

About a year ago, the International Energy Agency announced some important news. Although the global GDP grew by 3.4% in 2014, greenhouse gas emissions due to energy use did not increase! We spewed 32.3 gigtonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by burning stuff to produce energy—just as we had in 2013.

Of course, leveling off is not good enough. Since carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere essentially ‘forever’, we need to essentially quit burning stuff. You can’t stop a clogged sink...