Per capita anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by country for the year 2000 including land-use

1. Per capita anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by country for the year 2000 including land-use CountryPercentage of world emissions: 2007*Emissions Change: 1990-2007Announced 2020 Target (relative to 1990 levels)Announced 2050 Target Developed countriesNew Zealand0.2%22.1%A responsibility target for greenhouse gas emissions reductions of between 10% and 20% below 1990 levels by 2020, if there is a comprehensive global agreement and other conditions important to New Zealand are met. Reduce emissions by 50% below 1990 levels.Australia1.4%30.0%4% reduction unilaterally; 14% reduction conditional on efforts by major economies; about 24% reduction conditional on adequate global agreement. Reduce emissions to 60% below 1990 levels.Canada 1.9%26.2%About a 3% reduction.A reduction of about 50-65% on 1990 levels.EU-2713.0%-9.3%20% reduction unilaterally; 30% reduction conditional on other countries’ efforts. Japan3.5%8.2%8% reduction (domestic reductions only).Reduce emissions to about 55% and 80% below 1990 levels.USA18.3%16.8%Return to 1990 levels (0%).Reduce emissions to about 80% below 1990 levels.Developing countriesChina20.3%120.5%Countries have agreed to protect the climate system on the basis of equity and according to their differing responsibilities and capabilities. Developed countries have agreed to take the lead. As developing countries’ emissions and wealth grow, they will need to increasingly take in a share of the global effort. India5.1%79.9%Brazil2.7%54.7% Two Decades of Temperature Change in Antarctica Posted November 21, 2007 sea-level changes measured by satellite. Friday, November 20, 2009 The chances of a successful outcome at Copenhagen have faded dramatically over recent weeks. The dreaded truth goes something like this: there are simply far too many people still in denial despite the overwhelming scientific evidence. The blame for this sad state of affairs is largely due to ignorance and lack of education. Until this sad state of affairs changes, little will be done tangibly to avert a looming climate catastrophe. The status quo democratic system in most OECD and developing countries (there are exceptions) determines that political decisions are ultimately made by the voters. This means that politicians by and large are limited in their ability to make ground breaking unpopular decisions because opposition parties will jump at the opportunity to gain political ground. Since the causes of climate change are so much in dispute; it is expedite for all political parties (except the more credible) to take a low cost approach. (ie downplay, even deny and take a ‘wait and see’ approach) This approach may have worked up to now, but a crunch time is approaching. One day, the rhetoric of political grandstanding must be converted into something more tangible. A commitment is one thing; actually achieving this commitment is another thing entirely. This was what Copenhagen was supposed to be about. The last thing we need right now is more hot air. How the world reduces man made greenhouse gases is a complex issue politically, but scientifically and mathematically it is quite straightforward. The number one emitter of co2 is energy. Of all the energy sources, burning coal is the largest contributor to manmade greenhouse gases. Therefore it makes a lot of scientific and economic sense to target coal first. (read Carbon sequestration) Once this technology is perfected, then a dramatic move to electric powered vehicles can be achieved by all world governments. In this way achieving 350ppm is possible by 2100.