Earth Equity News

World Bank Issues Study on Energy Intensity. By John Collins Rudolf, NYTimes, November 6, 2009. "'Emissions intensity' -- the amount of atmospheric carbon generated from fossil fuel use per unit of gross domestic product -- fell globally in all but two years between 1994 and 2006, according to a World Bank study [Changes in CO2 Emissions from Energy Use, PDF, 100 pp] released earlier this week. But emissions reductions in individual countries presented a mixed picture, according to Masami Kojima, the lead energy specialist with the World Bank, and one of the authors of the study, which highlights the challenge of de-coupling emissions from economic growth... A handful of countries, including Denmark and Germany, drastically reduced emissions, both over all and in relation to economic growth. The study did not analyze the specific policies within each country that led to changes in emissions, but Warren Evans, the director of the World Bank's environment department, said that countries that succeeded in reducing emissions while still expanding their economies should be examined closely by other nations during upcoming climate talks in Copenhagen."