Well, you piqued my curiosity, so I did the exercise for you. I used GDP per capita, which is a reasonable gauge of living standards. The correlation factor is 0.65 (a moderate correlation). That's based on 2006 figures. Many countries have dramatically increased their renewable energy generation since then, so 2006 is erring on the conservative side.  If you did the same exercise for 2012, the correlation coefficient would be less.

In contrast, the correlation between Global Land/Ocean temperature and Atmospheric CO2 over the last 50 years is a good one. The correlation coefficient for that data is 0.86.

Another good exercise would be to carry out the same exercise for the 40 richest countries. I doubt if there would be a correlation there.

The conclusion - it ain't necessarily so. 

Ajax wrote on Sep 14^th, 2013 at 3:40pm:


That doesn't mean we shouldn't pull our weight.  The only way we cam gauge if we're pulling our weight is by using per capita measures.

Do you think that a carbon trading system is a sure way to poverty too Ajax? You'd be surprised how many of our rich trading partners have one.

BigOl64 wrote on Sep 14^th, 2013 at 5:37pm:


Hey! - I resent the socialist bit. (and the wank bit)

China has a fair way to go too, but it's outside our  control.

You are right in saying that the damage is done by the total global output, but it's a question of "how to eat an elephant".

Apart from that I was just replying to Rider's point.

Chimp_Logic wrote on Sep 14^th, 2013 at 7:09pm:


Two posters have said this so far. I'd suggest that one of the bloggers must have written it, such as Anthony Watts or ex Professor Bob  Carter. the guy who was fired early in the year for bringing James Cook University into disrepute.

Seems the Germans aren't all that happy with green energy after all...

Green energy forcing ratepayers into the red

By Gary Lamphier, Edmonton Journal September 13, 2013

EDMONTON - Apparently the path to a cleaner, greener planet isn’t quite as painless as many eco-altruists would have you believe.

From Germany to Spain and Ontario to British Columbia, taxpayers are waking up to the fact that their power bills are going straight up.

A major reason? Poorly thought out — some would say hopelessly naive — energy policies that encouraged an explosion of highly subsidized solar, wind, biomass and hydro projects, all in the name of saving the planet from evil fossil fuels.

Ironically, in some cases, these policies have led to an increase in carbon emissions. At the same time, the promised payoff of millions of new green manufacturing jobs has failed to live up to the hype, as Chinese firms undercut their Western rivals. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s single-minded campaign to wean her country off nuclear energy in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima disaster has resulted in increased dependence on coal, the dirtiest of all fossil fuels. German consumers already pay the highest electricity prices in all of Europe. Now there’s talk in the German press that electricity is becoming a “luxury good” that some simply can’t afford.

The country’s former Green Party environment minister once boasted that the switch to renewables wouldn’t cost taxpayers more than one scoop of ice cream. Today his successor admits consumers are paying enough to “eat everything on the ice cream menu,” according to Der Spiegel, Germany’s largest news magazine.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Lamphier+Green+energy+forcing+ratepayers/8911105/story.html

Rider wrote on Sep 14^th, 2013 at 7:26pm:


Germany is the worlds largest exporting nation, with even china just below them.

They pay their workers TOP dollar with many of their sectors working 32 hour weeks full time.

Oh they are happy alright.

In fact they look into our back yard and laugh their heads off at what we do as a nation.

The per capita statement is nonsense, its the only way to make Australia look bad to its people, that's why these treasonous politicians use it.

Have you ever heard these smacking labor or green politicians come out and say that we don't even rank in the top ten nations when it comes to human CO2 emissions.

Look at our bills ever since witchy poo introduced the carbon tax.......?????

Everything ....rates....utilities....services..... etc etc...have sky rocketed.

What about our wages........????......there not keeping up to the amount of increase....we have fallen behind big time.

The European ETS is falling apart its become corrupt and dysfunctional, their carbon credits are at rock bottom in other words not worth the paper there printed on.

And their emissions are still going up.

We send 10% of the carbon tax revenue to the United Nations....??

Who the bugger are they to receive Australian tax payer monies....????

We also send out about $ one billion dollars in the purchase of carbon credits and their derivatives.

Again I ask you WHY.......????

This money can be better spent here in Australia on Australians.

If we stopped producing CO2 emissions tomorrow it wouldn't make a difference to the world human emissions and yet we have been given a carbon tax with a value unheard of anywhere else in the world.

Our industry is suffering the Australian people are suffering and the bottom line is our CO2 emissions don't even count.

The environmental movement is communism incognito.