Today, TPPF’s energy initiative, Life:Powered, released updated data from the Model for the Assessment of Greenhouse Gas-Induced Climate Change (MAGICC) that shows that if the U.S. banned all fossil fuel consumption and went entirely “net-zero” by 2050, the effect on global temperatures by 2100 would be negligible.
The data shows that if the United States were to be fully dependent on renewable electricity generation by 2050, the temperature difference by the year 2100 would be 0.014 degrees Celsius. If the U.S. were to eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, including from cars and industrial sources, the difference would be 0.082 degrees Celsius. That 0.082 degrees is a mere 7% of the change already experienced over the last 150 years and is comparable to the measurement error in global temperatures. In essence, it is almost less than what we can reliably measure.
Life:Powered policy director, Dr. Brent Bennett released the following statement: “The vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions for the rest of the 21st century will come from outside the developed world, particularly from China, India, and Southeast Asia. Denying ourselves and the world’s poor access to affordable and reliable energy in the name of influencing an already changing climate is suicidal. Until we develop truly affordable zero-carbon energy that can be deployed at a global scale, we will do better by using all the energy resources available to us to adapt to whatever Mother Nature throws at us.”
“Those who want to ban our most affordable, reliable, and abundant source of energy might be surprised to know that banning fossil fuels in the developed world and going 100% renewable — if it were even feasible — would have no meaningful impact on the temperature. Furthermore, the resulting increase in costs and blackouts would have a devastating impact to families that could least afford it,” said Life:Powered director, Jason Isaac.
The best science indicates that our climate is likely to remain mild and manageable. The question remains whether imperceptibly slight warming is worth strangling our economy and quality of life.
Read the full date breakdown here.