Energy and the Environment - Nearly 90% of Global Warming Gas Emissions Are CO2
By Larry Butz

“There is a 90 percent chance the planet's average temperatures will rise 3 to 9 F (1.7 to 4.9 C) by 2100.” This simple statement in the June 2001 report released by National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado leaves little doubt of the magnitude of the threat from global warming. The UN Environment Program estimates that the extra economic costs of disasters attributable to global warming are running at more than $300 billion annually.

The global community is responding with actions lead by the Kyoto Protocol, which aims to reduce emissions of global warming gases. Nearly 90% of global warming gas emissions are CO2, which are primarily from the use of fossil fuels for energy. The focus on energy will undoubtedly continue to increase. Throughout the world different methods are being used to encourage reduced energy use. Japan has enacted the Energy Conservation Law in 1999. The U.S. has revised ASHRAE Standard 90.1 to raise the minimum COP level for centrifugal chillers from the current value of 5.2 to 6.1 effective in October of this year. A growing number of countries are using environmental costing which includes an estimated cost for resource depletion and environmental deterioration. Although such fees to discourage pollution were first proposed in 1920 they did not see widespread application until 1990 when Finland implemented the first carbon tax.