Because reducing emissions is good on its own.

- Using renewable energy in most applications is now several times cheaper than constantly importing coal, oil and gas. It's weird to suggest using renewables hurts a country economically.

- Not burning fossil fuels in your country improves air quality and correspondingly health outcomes.

- Not importing fossil fuels gives your country geopolitical security

- And when has the goodness of a deed ever been dependent on what others are doing.

I hear you, and I think it's also fucked up (as someone who lives in the US) that our climate success is so easily reversed by the whims of whoever is in power today. If it makes you feel any less bad, new Zealand doing it acts as fantastic proof that a good chunk of New England could do it, or that the American South could do it. Plus, there isn't a lot of love for polluting policies; just tolerance from the government for polluters. Nobody here likes to see their kids have asthma, or to see their water contaminated. The size thing can make it feel hopeless, but what is the US if not a handful of New Zealand's?

US emissions have been declining - not fast enough, and from a very high baseline - for the last 20 years before this year’s result. Europe’s emissions have been declining since the 1990s.

China’s emissions may have peaked in 2025, or are very close to peaking.

Big emitters have not done enough, but to claim they have done nothing is a nonsense.

If it helps China is improving: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45108292

[dead]

[dead]

I expect increased demand will lead to higher prices, which is one of the reasons that people are protesting data centers being installed near them

Haha good one

Don't let your political opinions get in the way of understanding what is happening around you.

> The increase in greenhouse gas emissions is attributable to a combination of a cool winter, the explosive growth of data centers and cryptocurrency mining and higher natural gas prices, according to the Rhodium Group, an independent research firm. Environmental policy rollbacks by President Donald Trump’s administration were not significant factors in the increase because they were only put in place this year, the study authors said.

You don’t need more gas to reindustrialise.

The biggest single thing the US could do to bring down power prices quickly is let people put solar panels on their home roofs more easily.