Weakening of Warming, or Cooling Trend?

At Watts Up With That, Fritz Vahrenholt comments on recent temperature and CO2 data:

[A] weakening of the warming trend of the last 40 years is apparent.

The temperature curve of the satellite-based measurements of the University of Alabama UAH has been oscillating between -0.2 and 0.4 degrees for 20 years and seems to have remained stable since 2015, as shown in the next graph in the enlargement. (Source: woodfortrees). The mean value is drawn in green-it shows a slightly decreasing trend since 2015. Why hasn’t this been reported?

We all know the answer to that question. This is the graph of satellite measurements since 2015:

The “weakening” or decline, call it what you will, is not because atmospheric CO2 is no longer increasing:

CO2 concentrations in the air have continued to rise unabated. It is true that global annual CO2 emissions have been more or less constant for some years now, at 40 billion tons of CO2. Slightly more than half is absorbed by the oceans and plants, so that currently each year the equivalent of about 2.5 ppm CO2 is added to the air concentration. In 2015, there were 401 ppm of CO2 in the air; in 2021, there were 416 ppm. At this rate, by the way, we would never reach the IPCC’s scary scenarios of 800 to 1000 ppm in 2100.

The “green” movement is 5% science and 95% politics, so the political realities resulting from the skyrocketing cost of energy have created some flexibility among greenies:

The U.S. government is also repositioning itself. John Kerry, the U.S. government’s climate envoy, for whom the 1.5-degree target was previously the sole political guideline, is now putting things into perspective and, in view of skyrocketing energy prices, saying that 1.8 degrees should be quite sufficient as a target.

Still, fantasy rules on the left. The idea that wind and solar energy can (or should) power the world is absurd:

German policymakers are still reacting inadequately. They believe they can solve the problem of self-generated energy shortages due to the double phase-out of coal and nuclear energy by simply building more wind farms and solar plants. It must always be remembered that in 2021 the share of wind and solar energy was just over 5% of primary energy supply (oil, gas, coal, nuclear, renewables). Even in a good windy year, it would not be much more than 6%.

I think the world’s best hope to survive “green” insanity is a continuing random drop in global temperatures over the next few years.

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