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Don’t Believe the Lies: Five Facts to Consider as the UN’s COP27 Comes to a Close

Union of Concerned Scientists

Their study examined the carbon dioxide and methane emissions from these companies’ products, as well as from the extraction and production processes of the largest gas, oil and coal producers and cement manufacturers. Data on the major carbon producers’ emissions have been published since 2014.

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Too Many Gas Power Plants are the Problem Not the Solution

Union of Concerned Scientists

Over the year, those plants emitted 661 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, more than 13% of the US’s energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. But gas plants also release emissions of nitrogen oxides, more commonly referred to as NOx emissions, that contribute to smog and other pollutants.

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A 100% Renewable Energy Future is Possible, and We Need It

Union of Concerned Scientists

Sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and nitrogen oxides (NO x ) emissions from power plants in USCA states fall 88 and 77 percent respectively by 2040, compared with 27 and 18 percent under current policies and plans. Just as important, cleaning up the power grid can also decrease carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions.

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Good News—and Bad—about Fossil Fuel Power Plants in 2023 

Union of Concerned Scientists

In 2021 alone, the plants slated for retirement emitted more than 28,000 tonnes of nitrogen oxides (NO x ), 32,000 tonnes of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), and 51 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), according to EIA data. What can be done?

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Unraveling LA’s Hydrogen Combustion Experiment

Legal Planet

But with the recent influx of government incentives for hydrogen production, new and improving production and storage technologies, and greater political will than ever before, H 2 ’s reputation is gaining favor. Because of this, a 30% hydrogen mix by volume delivers only a 10% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

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Stronger Fuel Economy Standards Are Needed to Clean Up Combustion Vehicles

Union of Concerned Scientists

However, with the oil crisis in the rear-view mirror, then-President Ronald Reagan acceded to requests from Ford and General Motors to reduce fuel economy standards for a few years, and the political will to strengthen the program petered out.

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Ask a Scientist: Top Takeaways from the New EPA Carbon Pollution Rules

Union of Concerned Scientists

The rule, which also applies to new gas plants, would avoid as much as 617 million metric tons of carbon dioxide through 2042, the EPA calculated , the equivalent of the annual emissions of 137 million passenger vehicles—about half of the cars in the country. Those currently operating fossil fuel plants generate 25 percent of U.S.