Earth Equity News

World Bank Report Says CO2 Reduction in Emerging Economies Could be Relatively Cheap. By Elisabeth Malkin, NYTimes, November 5, 2009. "How much would it cost to stop increasing greenhouse gas emissions in Mexico? According to a new study from the World Bank [PDF, 170 pp], not very much. The bank estimates that Mexico could flatline its emissions growth, using a variety of measures, for about $64 billion over the next 20 years -- or $3 billion annually. That amounts to just 0.4 percent of the country's gross domestic product each year, according to the study, to keep emissions levels from rising significantly over the 659 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent released in 2008. Without the measures, emissions in the country are expected to grow by 73%, to 1,137 million tons in 2030... The report is one of six studies on low-carbon growth in emerging economies that the bank has been carrying out -- though it is the only one likely to be ready before the United Nations climate change conference next month in Copenhagen. The other analyses -- for China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia -- have been stalled by bureaucracy or by governments' reluctance to provide data ahead of the global negotiations, according to the bank."