Only after industrializing following World War II and gaining its independence, has the Philippines (the islands are plural, the country is singular) begun emitting any measurable amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. Since then the country’s rise in greenhouse gas emissions has been steep, reaching 140 million tons by 2020. This represents about 0.4% of the world’s total emissions, for a country with 1.4% of its population.
Philippines annual carbon dioxide emissions.
Per capita carbon dioxide emissions.
Only two brief downturns in emissions interrupt the very nearly exponential growth of the Philippines’ increase in CO2 emissions. This is a tiny portion of the whole, but represents the ramp-up from pre-industrial to industrial economy, relying on fossil fuel and emissions. The Philippines are one of the many countries around the world industrializing late, in an era when climate change science has come of age and is already prescribing emissions limits.
Carbon dioxide emissions by fuel.
World fuel consumption by type.
In a world which still depends mostly on fossil fuels, this is effectively a limit on economic activity. And that is the fundamental pressure which keeps our global society on its unsustainable path. Temperature trends in the Philippines’ air and sea are clear, though hardly the result of the country’s economic growth. The lot of the Philippines, like many smaller, less wealthy countries around the planet, is in the realm of climate justice, of balancing human rights against economic and political convenience. (We will return to the topic of climate justice down the road a bit—it’s worth a significant section of its own, after our world tour.)
Air temperature anomalies, 1951-2009.
Sea surface temperature anomalies, 1850-2010.
Tomorrow: climate change, ENSO and Philippine agriculture.
Be brave, and be well.
No comments:
Post a Comment