Pumping Carbon
Obama says he wants a low-carbon, clean energy economy. That would be a change. Here we track the history of carbon emissions as new sources of energy have come online.
In his address on climate change at Georgetown University this week, Barack Obama declared that “we can’t just drill our way out of the energy and climate challenge that we face,” and that “a low-carbon, clean energy economy can be an engine of growth for decades to come.” Should the president follow through on his plan to continue reducing carbon emissions in the U.S., it would be an important step towards reducing global emissions, which, as the graphic below demonstrates, have steadily risen since 1850.
Created in partnership with the North-South Institute.
