The Number Crunchers Weigh In - We're Losing the Battle to Meet our Carbon Budgets

It's too bad that Steve "Mr. Head Up His Ass" Harper still sees the climate change problem in the context of vague targets factored into intensity-based emissions growth. I guess it's the bitumen-coloured glasses that Steve uses to see his world.

A considerable effort has been made to come up with a more rational approach - budgeting. It works from the enshrined two degree celsius target for limiting global warming and then works out just how much additional CO2 mankind can put into the atmosphere by 2050 before it exceeds that limit. Kind of makes sense, no? Yes.

Enter Price Waterhouse Coopers, mega bean counters, top drawer. What PwC has done is to work out what emissions reductions are required from each G20 member state if we're to meet that 2 degree Celsius warming budget. They're working on a window that runs from 2008 to 2050.

The PwC report reveals that G20 nations are falling seriously behind the carbon emission reductions they'll need to meet the 2050 target. PwC says we've fallen so far behind the 2% annual reductions target that meeting the 2050 target will now require an average annual decarbonizing of 3.5% - each and every year from now to 2050. Of course some nations (no names will be mentioned) are worse than others and need even greater emissions cuts.

You can follow the link above to the report but the real telling stuff is in the PDF graphics linked on the right hand side of the page. Check those out and you'll get a good idea of where our beloved True North Strong and Free stands. Trust me, it won't make you proud.