Planet Earth fact of the day

China is far and away the global leader in greenhouse gas emissions, and for all of the EU’s stern tone and finger wagging on climate change, the bloc’s latest data show that its emissions actually increased 0.5 percent in 2015. Contrast that with the United States, which saw emissions drop a whopping 3 percent last year as a result of the continuing (shale-enabled) transition from coal to natural gas.

That is from Jamie Horgan at The American Interest, who makes many other good points, including this:

One’s opinion of the new climate course Trump just charted for America will ultimately depend on how much faith one puts in climate diplomacy as the holy grail for addressing climate change. The truth is, climate diplomacy has always been more about preening, posturing, and moralizing—about optics—above all else. What happened today was also all about optics (intentionally so) and that’s why greens committed to finding “diplomatic” solutions are pulling their hair out today.

I still think it was a mistake to pull out, as “bad optics” are one form of “bad.”  Most of all, Trump’s action contributes to the common and growing perception that America simply isn’t reliable.  But have any market prices indicated that the world’s future is now likely to be more carbon-intensive?  I just don’t see it.