The Future (95 page)
Authors: Al Gore
305
utility sector oppose such measures
Joe Romm, “Who Killed the Senate RPS?,” ClimateProgress, June 27, 2007,
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2007/06/27/201573/who-killed-the-senate-rps/
.
306
including, most prominently, California
State of California, “California Renewables Portfolio Standard,” 2012,
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/energy/Renewables/index.htm
.
307
install 500 megawatts of solar energy by 2020
Dave Roberts, “Why Do ‘Experts’ Always Lowball Clean-Energy Projections?,” Grist, July 19, 2012,
http://grist.org/renewable-energy/experts-in-2000-lowballed-the-crap-out-of-renewable-energy-growth/
.
308
China installed double that amount by 2010
Ibid.
309
goal was exceeded 22-fold and is expected
Ibid.
310
“weren’t just off, they were
way
off”
Ibid.
311
alternative to government regulations mandating reductions
John Fialka, “How a Republican Anti-Pollution Measure, Expanded by Democrats, Got Roots in Europe and China,”
E&E News
, November 17, 2011.
312
originally supported the idea
Ibid.
313
energy during their own past periods
International Energy Agency, “Energy Poverty,” 2012,
http://www.iea.org/topics/energypoverty/
.
314
even if it means that they too must shoulder
Arthur Max, “Developing Nations Pledge Actions to Curb Climate Change,” Associated Press, March 22, 2011.
315
costs from climate disruption will be borne by developing countries
World Development Report 2010: Development and Climate Change
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2010)
316
world now exceed those in rich countries
Alex Morales, “Renewable Power Trumps Fossils for First Time as UN Talks Stall,” Bloomberg News, November 25, 2011.
317
more than half of the installed global renewable energy capacity
Charles Kenny, “Greening It Alone,”
Foreign Policy
, August 1, 2011.
318
hampered the ability of many communities
Rick Jervis and Gregory Korte, “FEMA Could Run Out of Money over Stalemate,”
USA Today
, September 25, 2011.
319
caused more than $15 billion in damage
“Hurricane Irene 2011: One Year Anniversary of East Coast Storm,”
Huffington Post
, August 24, 2012,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/24/hurricane-irene-2011-2012_n_1826060.html
.
320
and wildfires in 240 of its 242 counties
Patrik Jonsson, “Texas Wildfire Chief: Wildfires Still Raging, but ‘We Are Making Successes,’ ”
Christian Science Monitor
, April 21, 2011.
321
all-time-high temperature records were broken or tied
Andrew Freedman, “Hot Summer of 2011 Rewrites Record Books,” Climate Central, September 8, 2011,
http://www.climatecentral.org/blogs/a-record-hot-summer-interactive-map/
.
322
seven of them caused more than $1 billion in damage
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Extreme Weather 2012,” January 19, 2012.
323
more than half of the counties in the U.S
.
David Ariosto and Melissa Abbey, “Historical Drought Puts Over Half of US Counties in Disaster Zones, USDA Says,” CNN, August 1, 2012.
324
Hurricane Sandy cost at least $71 billion
Matthew Craft, “Hurricane Sandy’s Economic Damage Could Reach $50 Billion, Eqecat Estimates,” Associated Press, November 1, 2012.
325
report supporting such border adjustments
United Nations Environment Programme and World Trade Organization,
Trade and Climate Change
, 2009,
http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/trade_climate_change_e.pdf
.
326
has been a success in most of the nations, provinces, and regions
Janet Raloff, “Kyoto Climate Treaty’s Greenhouse ‘Success,’ ”
ScienceNews
, November 3, 2009,
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/49058/title/Science_%2B_the_Public__Kyoto_climate_treatys_greenhouse_success
.
327
“The carbon market may be complex, but we live in a complex world”
Marton Kruppa and Andrew Allan, “Carbon Trading May Be Ready for Its Next Act,” Reuters, November 13, 2011.
328
will imminently begin cap and trade systems
Ibid.
329
Most significantly, California began implementing its system in 2012
Jason Dearen, “California’s Cap-and-Trade System to Launch with First Pollution Permits Auction,” Associated Press, November 12, 2012.
330
“it may become the biggest in the world, and allowances in that system would then give a global price signal”
Kruppa and Allan, “Carbon Trading May Be Ready for Its Next Act.”
331
experience that will be used to implement a nationwide cap and trade system by 2015
Lan Lan, “Beijing Preparing for Carbon Trading System,”
China Daily
, April 20, 2012.
332
almost 20 percent of the Chinese population
Alexandre Kossoy and Pierre Gioan, World Bank, “State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2012,” May 2012, p. 99,
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTCARBONFINANCE/Resources/State_and_Trends_2012_Web_Optimized_19035_Cvr&Txt_LR.pdf
.
333
China for allegedly providing unfair subsidies to its wind and solar manufacturers
Keith Bradsher, “200 Chinese Subsidies Violate Rules, US Says,”
New York Times
, October 6, 2011.
334
European Union began its consideration of a similar complaint
“US Imposes Import Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panels,” BBC News, May 17, 2012,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18112983
.
335
overtake the United States as the largest global warming polluter
Chris Buckley, “China Says Is World’s Top Greenhouse Gas Emitter,” Reuters, November 23, 2010.
336
China against dirty energy projects are growing
Keith Bradsher, “Budding Environmental Movement Finds Resonance Across China,”
New York Times
, July 4, 2012.
337
gone up more than 150 percent, surpassing
Goldman Sachs, “Sustainable Growth in China: Spotlight on Energy,” August 13, 2012,
http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/topics/environment-and-energy/sustainable-growth-china.html
.
338
70 percent of its energy from coal
“Coal Industry in China—Coal Accounts for About 70% of China’s Total Energy,” BusinessWire, December 14, 2011.
339
to a level three times that of U.S. coal consumption
Goldman Sachs, “Sustainable Growth in China: Spotlight on Energy,” August 13, 2012,
http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/topics/environment-and-energy/sustainable-growth-china.html
.
340
two and a half times more than the U.S
.
Osamu Tsukimori, “China Overtakes Japan as World’s Top Coal Importer,” Reuters, January 26, 2012.
341
is equivalent to all of the U.S. annual consumption
Mikkal Herberg, New America Foundation, “China’s Energy Rise and the Future of U.S.-China Energy Relations,” June 21, 2011,
http://newamerica.net/publications/policy/china_s_energy_rise_and_the_future_of_us_china_energy_relations
.
342
though many experts are skeptical about their ability to stay within the cap
Susan Kraemer, “China to Simply Cap Coal Use Within 3 Years,” Clean Technica,
March 8, 2012,
http://cleantechnica.com/2012/03/08/china-to-simply-cap-coal-use-within-3-years/
.
343
first decade of this century, and is now second only
Herberg, “China’s Energy Rise and the Future of U.S.-China Energy Relations.”
344
Saudi Arabia’s oil exports to China
Ibid.
345
will import three quarters of its oil within the next two decades
U.S. Energy Information Agency, “Country Analysis: China,” September 4, 2012,
http://www.eia.gov/countries/cab.cfm?fips=CH
.
346
engagement with oil-rich countries in the Middle East and Africa
Ibid.
347
Chinese became the largest investor in Iraq’s oilfields
Ibid.
348
energy consumption in China is only a fraction
Heather Billings and Sisi Wei, “China’s Energy Grab,”
Washington Post
, October 30, 2011.
349
per capita CO
2
emissions are approaching those of Europe
Duncan Clark, “Average Chinese Person’s Carbon Footprint Now Equals European’s,”
Guardian
, July 18, 2012.
350
letting all energy prices float further upward to global market levels
Keith Bradsher, “China Sharply Raises Energy Prices,”
New York Times
, June 20, 2008.
351
lagging behind other leading global economies
Danielle Kurtzlaben, “China, European Countries Best U.S. on Energy Efficiency,”
U.S. News & World Report
, July 12, 2012.
352
it will invest almost $500 billion in clean energy
Esther Tanquintic-Misa, “China Leads Global Investments in Renewable Energy,”
IB Times
, December 5, 2011,
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/261083/20111205/china-leads-global-investments-renewable-energy.htm#.UFJWkhg-KP0
.
353
Chinese make use of “feed-in tariffs”
Coco Liu, “China Uses Feed-in Tariff to Build Domestic Solar Market,” ClimateWire, September 14, 2011.
354
subsidy plan that worked extremely well in Germany
Cristoph Stefes, “Room for Debate—The German Solution: Feed in Tariffs,”
New York Times
, September 21, 2011.
355
renewable energy percentage targets on utilities
Pew Charitable Trusts, “Global Clean Power: A $2.3 Trillion Opportunity—Appendix: China,” December 8, 2010, p. 48.
356
targets for the reduction of CO
2
emissions per unit of economic growth
Bill McKibben, “Can China Go Green?,”
National Geographic
, June 2011.
357
“miracle will end soon, because the environment can no longer keep pace”
“The Chinese Miracle Will End Soon,”
Der Spiegel
, March 7, 2005.
358
factories and even blackouts in order to ensure that the goals were met
Jonathan Watts, “China Resorts to Blackouts in Pursuit of Energy Efficiency,”
Guardian
, September 19, 2010.
359
central government has linked promotions
Alexandre Kossoy and Pierre Gioan, World Bank, “State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2012,” May 2012, pp. 96–99,
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTCARBONFINANCE/Resources/State_and_Trends_2012_Web_Optimized_19035_Cvr&Txt_LR.pdf
.
360
exports 95 percent of the solar panels it produces
David Pierson, “China Offers Measured Response to U.S. Tariffs on Solar Panels,”
Los Angeles Times
, March 21, 2012.
361
50 percent of all the windmills installed globally were in China
Global Wind Energy Council, “China Wind Energy Development Update 2010,” 2010,
http://www.gwec.net/china-wind-energy-development-update-2012/
.
362
connected to lines that cannot handle the electricity flow
Mat McDermott, “One Quarter of China’s Wind Power Still Not Connected to Electricity Grid,” TreeHugger, March 7, 2011,
http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/one-quarter-of-chinas-wind-power-still-not-connected-to-electricity-grid.html
.
363
“almost the equivalent of rebuilding”
Jeff St. John, “HVDC Grows on the Grid from China to Oklaunion,” August 28, 2012, Greentech Media,
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/hvdc-grows-in-smart-grid-from-china-to-oklaunion/
.
364
the Middle East to large electricity consumers in Europe
Beth Gardiner, “An Energy Supergrid for Europe Faces Big Obstacles,”
New York Times
, January 16, 2012.
365
Mexico can easily provide all of the electricity needed
Thomas L. Friedman, “This Is a Big Deal,”
New York Times
, December 4, 2011.
366
India
Brad Gammons, “India Set to Leap-Frog Ahead with ‘Smart Grid’ Energy Strategy,”
International Business Times
, September 8, 2011.
367
Australia
Fran Foo, “ ‘EnergyAustralia’ Bags $93m Smart Grid Contract,”
Australian
, October 8, 2010.
368
more than $200 billion per year
National Energy Technology Laboratory, “Modern Grid Benefits,” 2007, p. 14,
www.netl.doe.gov/smartgrid/referenceshelf/whitepapers/Modern%20Grid%20Benefits_Final_v1_0.pdf
.
369
problems in managing electricity flows through the antiquated grid
Simon Denyer and Rama Lakshmi, “India Blackout, on Second Day, Leaves 600 Million without Power,”
Washington Post
, August 1, 2012.