Here’s a quick little item of good news from Europe, courtesy of the AP and BusinessWeek: “Greenhouse gas emissions from major European polluters fell 11 percent last year as the economic downturn reduced demand for energy and manufactured goods, according to a report released Thursday.” Okay, okay, this is largely a consequence of the economic downturn, but the “NY Times” reports here that the decline in the electricity sector is attributable, at least in part, to an “increasing move in power towards gas and other forms of low-carbon generation.”
The trick, of course, is to make the trend to fewer GHG emissions permanent by deploying the massive resources available in finance, technology, and political will – at least in Europe – to maximum advantage. The Europeans seem to get it. Maybe the US Senate will too before much longer.