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COP28 Global Methane Pledge Efforts Still Not Enough

Union of Concerned Scientists

The pledge is a voluntary agreement to reduce global methane emissions by 30 percent below 2020 levels by 2030; however, methane levels keep going up and we are woefully off track for meeting this goal. Compared to carbon dioxide (CO2), methane doesn’t linger for long in the atmosphere after being emitted.

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A 100% Renewable Energy Future is Possible, and We Need It

Union of Concerned Scientists

And we’re still trying to recover from a pandemic that has made even more clear the disproportionate impacts of air pollution on overburdened communities, making them even more vulnerable to the negative impacts of COVID 19. Just as important, cleaning up the power grid can also decrease carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions.

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Don’t Believe the Lies: Five Facts to Consider as the UN’s COP27 Comes to a Close

Union of Concerned Scientists

Union of Concerned Scientists’ (UCS) research shows that top fossil fuel producers’ emissions are responsible for as much as half of global surface temperature increase. Updated analysis from 2020 shows that emissions traced to the 88 largest carbon producers contributed approximately 60 percent?of

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Ask a Scientist: Two Dozen States Can Meet 100 Percent of Electricity Demand with Renewables by 2035

Union of Concerned Scientists

From 2020 to 2040, solar generation in these states jumps nearly ninefold and wind generation more than sevenfold. The shift from fossil fuels in the 100-percent RES scenario reduces the amount of toxic power plant air pollution much more than what we called a “no-new-policy,” or business-as-usual, scenario.

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Reliance on Gas Power Plants Fuels Inequity

Union of Concerned Scientists

More recently, ongoing discrimination continues to push marginalized groups into areas with existing polluting infrastructure. In New England, the percent of people of color living near fossil fuel power plants is up to 23.5 Most notable of these polluting emissions are nitrogen oxides (NOx).

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The definitive CO2/CH4 comparison post

Real Climate

, but it inevitably brings forth a mish-mash of half-remembered, inappropriate or out-of-date comparisons between the impacts of carbon dioxide and methane. In 2020, CO 2 was at ~410 parts per million, while CH 4 was around 1870 parts per <it>billion</it> (or 1.87 Historical comparisons. Stocks and flows.

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Why Energy Bills Will Be Even Higher This Winter

Union of Concerned Scientists

The bankruptcies were set in motion even before 2020. A 2020 study found that Native American households’ median energy burden was 45 percent higher than non-Hispanic White households, while Black households’ median energy burden was 43 percent higher and Hispanic households’ burden was 20 percent higher.