Forget Paris, the U.S. already leads in reduction of carbon emissions

Remember when climatologist Patrick Michaels of the Cato Institute told CarolinaJournal.com that the “good ol’ USA” has led the way in the reduction of carbon emissions? Mark Perry of the American Enterprise Institute took notice.

Perry has found visual evidence to support Michaels’ claim.

The top chart above is a slight variation of the first chart featured in the Watts Up With That? post and shows the countries that have achieved the greatest reduction in CO2 emissions this century (2000 to 2016) led by the United States, which has reduced CO2 emissions by 626 million tons since 2000. That reduction of CO2 emissions in the US this century is four times greater than the country with the second largest reduction (UK) and equal to the reductions of the next eight countries combined (UK, Ukraine, Italy, Germany, France, Greece, Spain, and Japan).

The bottom chart above shows the countries with the greatest reductions in CO2 emissions over the last decade (2007 to 2016), with the United States again leading the world. The reduction in the US of nearly 800 million tons of CO2 emissions since 2007 is almost five times greater than the second ranked country (UK) is just slightly less than the reductions of the next ten countries combined (UK, Italy, Ukraine, Spain, Japan, Russian Federation, France, Germany, Canada, and Greece).