cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/54245880
The U.S. war with Iran has raised fossil fuel prices so much that the resulting drop in oil demand has put the world on track to see a rare dip in carbon emissions from these sources in 2026.
Between 2019 and 2025, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels grew by about 0.8 percent annually, according to a new study published in Nature Climate Change. But 2026 is set to buck that trend: high oil prices, as well as the continued rise of green technology—solar power, wind and electric cars—will cause a “short-term” 0.4 percent drop, according to the study.
“The high petrol prices following the war in Iran are reducing oil use and keeping emissions low,” says the study’s lead author Corinne Le Quéré, a professor of climate change science at the University of East Anglia in England. “But that’s not the whole story: The expansion of renewable energy has progressed a lot in recent years, led by China. And [along with electric vehicles], this is offsetting two thirds of the growing demand for energy.”
With all sources of carbon considered, including deforestation, total global CO2 emissions are set to continue increasing.
Honestly, when the public transport will give me back the 2 more hours (in the best case) I need to commute it will begin to be an alterative, until that moment I don’t think is a real solution.
I’m guessing you’re thinking of the current structure of your cities public transport. Picture NYC infrastructure or japan’s or even china’s.
Nobody needs a car there because it makes more sense to just use public transport.
I am thinking more about the problem for someone like me that do not live in the city, but not that afar either, to reach the working place that is not in the city, but still not that afar either.
The problem with public transportation is never when you live (and work) in the city, it is always when you live outside the city and need to go in the city (or the contrary) or in some other small neighbouring towns.
I had no problems to go to the big city with a train, in fact it is often far faster then using the car, the problem begins when I need to go to a neighbouring towns.
You cannot realistically build a public transportation system that connect every small town/village with every other small town/village with a timetable comparable to the one used in the public transportation of the city .
And then I would still have the problem of moving inside the destination town: often they are not big enough to justify having a public transportation system.
Well yeah the solution is to minimize the incentive for people to want to live rurally, while of course allowing them access to efficient vehicles, while incentivizing people to move to cities, where public transport can dominate the transportation infrastructure for the vast majority of the people on the planet (those who live in cities)
Personally I think it’s way too late for such significant and structural changes to be applied before we start experiencing mass famine, death, and of course resulting wars over resources. Our government institutions act too slowly for any of that to happen, and climate change is accelerating.
No, it is not a solution, it is only a way to other, probably worse, problems. You are basically proposing to replace all the towns and villages in every country with few megacities, I don’t think that it will work the way you are thinking.
It is not that it is too late, it is that it a stupid thing to do.
I think it’s stupid too but the smart option of degrowth is political suicide :P