And half of it comes from Hugo's mouth

Somebody in Copenhagen should have told Hugo Chávez that recycling old jokes does not make you green.
 
In a perfectly-timed coincidence, a single table from the ECLAC clears up what took us more than 600 words to elucidate: Venezuela has no business lecturing countries about global warming when it is the most polluting country in the region.
 
Here is the list, with yearly emissions of CO2 - measured in Metric tons per capita - in parentheses.
 

  1. Venezuela (5.7)
  2. Mexico (4.1)
  3. Chile (3.7)
  4. Argentina (3.7)
  5. Cuba (2.2)
  6. Ecuador (2.0)
  7. Dominican Republic (2.0)
  8. Panama (1.9)
  9. Brazil (1.9)
  10. Uruguay (1.7)

Source: La Tercera.
 
Any questions?

18 comments

How selective do you want to be?
 
Anonymous 1
   Anonymous

Cuba at 2.2? Really?

Not that I doubt the validity of those numbers, it's just that it seems odd. For Venezuela, it's obvious: effectively free gas=preposterous misuse of it. But what the hell do Cubans do to produce more CO2 per capita than Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay? Fart? Sigh a lot? Does constant crying really increase that much the CO2 emissions? It's not like there are more than 10 cars in working order in the whole island. And industry? Other than tobacco, what the hell do they produce that could cause CO2 emissions?

I can only guess that those numbers come from actual atmospheric measurements divided by population, and the Caribbean wind blows the CO2 into Cuba.

Or maybe JC is right and half of it does come from Hugo's mouth, and his constant visits to the island are screwing things up for the Cubans.

   Kolya

CO2: Venezuela tops France

Cuba's 2.2 metric tons of CO2 emissions per capita do not seem as surprising when we see that emissions of countries such as North Korea, Botswana and Mongolia are higher. Moreover, I would have not guessed that the emissions of Aruba and Trinidad & Tobago are even higher than the one's of the US.
It is rather amusing to think about Chavez's lecture when Venezuela' emits more CO2 per person than either France, Switzerland, or Sweden.

   .5MT

Cuba #5?

That's impossible.

CO2 is rationed in the island pairofdice.

Seriously tho? That can't be correct, unless it's CO2 emitted per unit of GNP.

   dagoberto

Cuba at 2.2: Yes, it may well be

Please, don't forget that pollution has many factors, not only cars and industry.
 
The electrical system in Cuba is old and inefficient. It is mainly based on  a network of small termoelectric plants burning fuel oil and, more recently, some mix of crude oil. That produces a LOT of GHG.
 
In the following link you'll find more information. It seems somehow biased but it also has some hard facts and interesting references:
 
http://ctp.iccas.miami.edu/FOCUS_Web/Issue68.htm
 
By the way, this is the system that Chavez is lately selling the Venezuelans as the solution to our electricity problems... future looks dark indeed...

   Pelao Manrique

Raw Data

I could not find the Table mentioned on this post, but here is the raw data (emissions per country). You can then divide by population size to get the per capita figure. Doing this, it is clear that Venezuela has the largest emissions in Latin America, excedding Mexico by roughly 10 fold and Brazil by 2-3.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/env_co2_emi-environment-co2-emissions = Emissions by country

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population = population by country

Anonymous 2
   Anonymous

Good link but the data is a bit old

Two details about the first link you posted: (1) the page shows both the total emissions and the per capita amount, you just have to click the link at the top of the list. And (2) the data there is from 2003, so it's a bit outdated. In fact, the link shows Venezuela at 5.38, rather than the 5.7 from JC's article.

   Juan Cristobal

La Tercera

The Table is copied straight from La Tercera, a Chilean newspaper, from Friday's edition.
 
www.latercera.cl

   Pelao Manrique

Better List

Thanks for the tip!

I just found this list that has data from 1990 to 2006.
Venezuela is still at the top for Latinamerican countries, besting Brazil by a factor of 3. Mexico is a close to Venezuela. I had made a mistake in my earlier calculations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissio...

   Roy

In fairness...

I like seeing statistics that really stick it to Chavez too, but in this case, it the disparity may not be entirely fair. There is a large amount of CO2 output associated with oil production. For example, look at the figures for Saudi Arabia, a relatively under-populated country.

Gentlemen, let us not stoop to the level of the PSFs in twisting and distorting the data to make our case. The fact that Venezuela's fuel consumption habits are so different as a result of the Government's absurd policy of subsidizing gasoline to where it is free, for all intents and purposes, is enough of a case against Chavez's "Environmentalist" credentials.

   Kepler

Is it so? Oil producing countries must produce

so much co2?
I understand Saudi Arabia's petrol price is also ridiculously cheap and men there (it is always men) prefer to drive their cars to any place no matter how close.
There must be a better way of measuring the ecological footprint...

   Pelao Manrique

Hello?

Roy,

How is it that we are distorting the data? The data speak for themselves. The issue is not what kind of activity produces the emissions. The issue is the emissions. Period!

We show the source of the data and the data themselves to point out that Chavez rhetoric is pure nonsense. Simple as that, Roy.

Anonymous 3
   Anonymous

In Roy's (and Chavez's) defense

If you look at the wikipedia link you just posted, you'll notice that Venezuela's CO2 emissions per capita have been fairly steady since 1990. They increased in 1998, but before that the average was nearly 6 anyway. The last 3 years it has had a sharp increase, but only after it came down from 6.7 to 5.2.

So, the point that Chavez is to blame for an increase in CO2 production isn't valid, but the point that Chavez is a goddamn hypocrite who demonizes everyone for not bending over backwards to save the world while he won't move a finger is, however, quite valid.

   dagoberto

Reportedly, the highest increase on CO2 emissions on the world

I believe it is worthwhile to check the following link and accompanying references:
 
http://devilsexcrement.com/2009/12/20/as-the-adoring-crowd-cheers-chavez-in-copenhagen-the-environmental-record-of-the-revolution-is-abysmal/
 
 

   Pelao Manrique

Indeed

Yes, Roy...your point is correct, but that was the point to begin with. No one is saying that Chavez has increased emissions, but rather that it is the height of hypocrisy to have the highest emission levels in Latin America and to keep pointing the finger at everybody else.

   Kolya

Global Warming and the Right

Perhaps this is somewhat of topic, but not totally. I just want to defend the conservative or right-of-center folks from the possibility of an unfair stereotype. There are many serious conservatives and right-of-center people who believe that global warming is largely caused by humanity and that it is a serious problem. In other words, it would be a mistake to stereotype conservatives as kooks who believe that Global Warming is a conspiratorial hoax, just like it would be a mistake to stereotype the environmentalists as Chavez groupies. This does not mean that these voices of the right agree with the left on what to do about Global Warming. But they do think that something must be done about it.

For three examples of thoughtful critiques from the right of the Copenhagen process you can check the following three posts:

http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com/beckerposner/2009/12/the-copenhagen-debac...

http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com/beckerposner/2009/12/failure-in-copenhage...

http://volokh.com/2009/12/21/do-we-need-global-governance-to-combat-glob...

   Quico

Exactly right, Kolya

Actually, I'd count myself as a skeptic in this sense: I think it's heroic to try, but I don't think there's any way to make the politics of Emissions Reduction work. (I agree that the Free Rider problem is likely to prove insurmountable: any effective climate treaty would result in a dramatic fall in oil prices, but would require very high energy taxes to limit consumption. If a gallon of gas comes to cost 10 cents to produce but $3 to buy at the pump, you'll end up with massive contraband - gas as the new heroin.)
 
My guess is that over the next 10 years we're going to be hearing a lot more about climate change ADAPTATION and a lot less about prevention. You still do have 300 million South Asians living on land that will be sea-bed within a generation, and you're going to have to do something with them.
 
But the problem is that there is SO MUCH anti-rationalist lunacy on the right about climate change it's hard not to get a bit defensive. When people routinely, blithely accuse THE ENTIRE SCIENTIFIC PROFESSION of engaging in some sort of massive, sprawling conspiracy, you really have to take a deep breath and wonder what the hell has gone wrong with this civilization.

Add new comment

New here?

For a gentle introduction, read the Beginner's Guide to the Chávez Era.
 
To get the most out of comments, take a minute to create a free account.

Join The Fray

  • RECENT COMMENTS
  • MOST COMMENTED
  • BEST OF THE FRAY
1 . The opposition should condemn Uribe (updated)
Posted on: 1 week ago.
Total comments: 95

2 . It's the Racketeering Stupid (or, How the Opposition Should Play This Thing...)
Posted on: 6 days ago.
Total comments: 56

3 . My name is Francisco and I'm a blog-o-holic...
Posted on: 6 days ago.
Total comments: 55

4 . The guru
Posted on: 3 weeks ago.
Total comments: 47

5 . "Your child can't have that operation because we need the money to capitalize SIDOR"
Posted on: 1 day ago.
Total comments: 47

6 . Occam's razor
Posted on: 1 week ago.
Total comments: 36

7 . Chabuki watch #6
Posted on: 3 weeks ago.
Total comments: 34

8 . Venezuela Responds to Colombia's Allegations of Collussion with the Guerrillas
Posted on: 1 week ago.
Total comments: 28

 

Navigation

Twitter

Daily Delivery

Enter your email address:   

  

 

English Blogroll

The Devil's Poop: Miguel Octavio's comprehensive Venezuelan news blog
Daniel's Blog: The view from Ruritania
Kepler's Blog: Venezuela, meet Europe. Europe, Venezuela.
Global Voices Online: Worldwide blog roundup: Venezuela page.
OilWars: Once chavista, now wobbly lefty blog.
21st Century Socialism: Calvin Tucker's cybershrine to chavismo and the Soviet model.

Spanish Blogroll

Blogs de El Nacional: Featuring Hernán Lugo Galicia's PSUV gossip blog Política de Ñapa.
Panfleto Negro:
Literary mass blog, open to all comers.
Los Cuadernos Azul y Marrón: Vicente Ulive-Schnell's cantankerous rambling.
Radar de los Barrios: Chuo Torrealba's innovative innitiative on Caracas's shantytowns.
Ana Julia Jatar's Blog: Wonkish stuff
Webarticulista Collective opposition opinion blog
Sin el chivo y sin el mecate: the students come of age
Capuchino: Father Jesus Garcia's unique perspective from Kavanayén, Edo. Bolívar
La Silla Vacía: The view from the sister republic

English Links

VenEconomy: Venezuela's leading bilingual business magazine, and Quico's former employer.
El Universal in English: Not very well translated news from EUD.
Google News: Top Venezuela stories.
The Latin American Herald Tribune: Successor to the venerable old, now defunct, Daily Journal.
Miami Herald: Venezuela Page.
Financial Times: Americas Page
Human Rights Watch: Venezuela Page
Amnesty International: Venezuela Page
Francisco Rodríguez @ Wesleyan: Top resource for economic research into the impact of the Chávez era
Organization of American States: Venezuela Page
Venezuela Information Office: Our tax-bolivars at work - government-run pro-Chávez blog aimed at the US
Venezuelanalysis.com: Most sophisticated pro-Chávez site.

Spanish Links

Noticias 24: The granddaddy of Venezuelan news aggregators, plus insane bulletin boards.
Twitter #Venezuela: Micro-blogging site's Venezuela stream.
TalCual: Newspaper edited by the legendary Teodoro Petkoff. Subscription required and worth it
El Universal: "Serious" Caracas daily, strongly opposition minded.
El Nacional: The other "serious" Caracas daily, strongly opposition minded
Globovision: Opposition run 24 hour news station. Text news free, Windows Media Video by subscription.
Union Radio Noticas: News portal and streaming audio.
GoogleNews Venezuela: Venezuela GoogleNews portal in Spanish.
Ultimas Noticias: Tabloid edited by Eleazar Díaz Rangel. Chávez-friendly. Subscription.
Descifrado: Opposition financial gossip site. Some items free, others by subscription.
El Chigüire Bipolar: Closest thing Venezuela has to The Onion. Very silly. And hysterical.
Notiven: News digest + links to dozens of Venezuelan newspapers.
ODH Grupo Consultor: News monitoring and economic analysis.
Urru.org: Massive oppo archive
E-lecciones: Fascinating selection of polling power points, international observer reports, and other election related stuff
Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias State news agency: all chavista propaganda all the time
Aporrea.org: Website of the Asamblea Popular Revolucionaria. Militant pro-Chávez site, occasionally critical of the government
VTV - Canal Ocho: State TV. Hardcore propaganda. Live WindowsMedia work only sometimes
Panorama: Maracaibo newspaper, privately owned but aggressively pro-Chávez
teleSUR: Hemispheric arm of the chavista propaganda machine
Viejas Fotos Actuales: Fun archive of historical pictures, films and audio recordings
Provea: One of Venezuela's two most respected human rights' NGOs
Cofavic: The other one of Venezuela's two most respected human rights' NGOs
Human Rights Watch: Venezuela Page
Central Bank of Venezuela: Good starting point for economic and monetary data.
Finance Ministry: data.
El Librito Azul: Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela - 1999

Frontline on Chávez

Frontline's genius 2008 documentary on the Chávez era. (Versión en español aquí.)

Email Us Directly

To get in touch with us directly:
Quico: franciscotoro at fastmail dot fm
Juan Cristobal: nageljuan at gmail dot com

Law of the Land

A documentary shot in 2002 and 2003, contrasting the experiences of two Venezuelan farms taken over in the name of the revolution.

Venezuela - Spanish with English Subtitles. Produced by Francisco Toro, Directed by Megan Folsom.


Click to watch full screen
Running time: 60 minutes.

Syndicate

Syndicate content