Enbridge Inc T.ENB

Putting green house gas emissions into perspective

[Marner16]

Lets start with Canada's role in global GHG emissions....1.5% and shrinking vs 25.8% and growing for China....note that the USA contributes 12.8% and shrinking faster than Canada

UNTIL CHINA GETS ON BOARD with reducing green house gases, the best efforts of the rest of the world will help but won't solve the plantet's Green House Gas problem

Key results

• Between 2005 and 2016, global GHG emissions increased by 19.3%, from 38 679 to 46 141 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO₂ eq)
• In 2016, the highest emitting country was China with 11 887 Mt CO₂ eq, or 25.8% of global GHG emissions. Since 2005, emissions from China increased by 65.2%
• Canada's emissions in 2016 reached 695 Mt CO₂ eq, which made up 1.5% of global GHG emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions for the world, Canada, and the top 10 emitting countries and regions, 2005 and 2016

Now let's take a look at what contributes to Green House Gases....note that electricity ranks just slightly below transportation (27% vs 28%) and that in the USA, approximately" 63 percent of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas"......."Coal is the single biggest contributor to anthropogenic climate change. The burning of coal is responsible for 46% of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide and accounts for 72% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the electricity sector." 

"Natural gas emits 50 to 60 percent less carbon dioxide (CO2) when combusted in a new, efficient natural gas power plant compared with emissions from a typical new coal plant"

Is it just me, or are we focusing on the wrong thing?  It is relatively simple to stop the use of coal and replace it with natural gas and the impact would be significant.  Let's do the math:

Nat gas reduces GHG by 55% vs coal....coal makes up 72% of the GHG emitted during the production of energy.....the creation of energy makes of 27% of GHG

If we replace coal with natural gas as the energy source for the creation of energy, we reduce overall GHG by 0.55 x 0.72 x 0.27 = 10.69%.....the Paris accord is looking to reduce GHG by 50% by 2030......replacing coal with natural gas to provide energy for our electricity needs will achieve 10% Paris Accord goal of 50% and it could be accomplished very quickly and  inexpensively.

Also of note is that 9.9% of GHG emissions are created by agriculture, most of which is due to the production of meat from cattle and even hogs.  If people cut back their consumption of beef by half (not 100%) we would reduce GHG emissions by another 5%. 


Now, lets take a look at what percentage of GHG is emitted by the operation of cars.  As you can see below, cars use about 45% of the total oil products used in trasportation.  Since transportation accounts for 28% of all GHG emissions, if we reduce that by 45% over the next ten years by converting to EV's would save 0.45 x 0.28 = 12.6%










SUMMARY:  If we replace coal with natural gas to energize our electricity needs, and cut back our consumption of beef by 50%, and replace ICE automobiles with EV's, all of which is achievable, we will have taken care of more than 50% of the stated goal of the Paris Accord.  

I don't have a clue what the causes of global warming are and how much each factor contributes.  

Based upon the following, I dont think shutting down pipelines and driving the economy of Alberta and Canada into the dirt are the answer.

"While the oil sands have been painted as a high emitter of greenhouse gases, in reality, oil sands developments only account for 12% of Canada's GHG emissions and about 0.15% of global GHG emissions. However, Canada's oil sands industry continues to reduce GHG emissions intensity"

[Marner16]

Sorry about the way the charts got worked into the presentation.  When I typed it all out, it looked great but when I hit send, somehow Stockhouse moved the charts around making the post a bit of a dog's breakfast. I write really quickly as you can tell by all of the typos and sentences that get mashed together when I make changes to the text without checking in my posts.  The post&

[jerichoDeer]

thanks

[FreeAtFiddy]

This post has been removed in accordance with Community Policy

[mlcb2525]

Thanks, appreciate the info/facts it gives me more information to argue over with my son............

[retiredengexec]

Wow. Outstanding summary Marner! Its coal that is the culprit that is most easily eliminated. Your summary on canadian oil and gas is bang on. They target us because they can and we are easy targets. One thing about natgas versus coal, stoichemetrically CH4 emits 50 % less CO2 than coal but when you take into account diesel to run the rig and frac its only 25 percent less if the rig runs on diesel

[Chad123]

Your flogging a dead horse bud! In retrospect your mindset is correct however they will tell you things like that the methane produced by the extraction of NG is horrendous and where you find gas is where you find oil. THEY have it all figured out my friend and you need to be the drone and go along with it. Climate change is just a tool in their toolbox for the real agenda. cheers!

[yieldmachine]

Thanks for putting this together Marner - much appreciated.