One of the more pernicious claims in the new @jeffgibbstc and @MMFlint documentary is that renewables don't make a difference to emissions because fossil fuels are still used. The US – where power sector emissions have fallen an impressive 33% – shows why this claim is false. 1/4
Coal has been crushed in the US over the last 15 years, falling by nearly 50% from 2005 levels. It has been replaced by a combination of natural gas and renewables. A bit less than half of CO2 reductions we've seen has come from renewables, with the other half from gas. 2/4 
Overall electricity coming from fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) has declined by 11% since 2005. And while gas replacing coal is not a long-term solution, is has driven emissions reductions even when methane leakage is taken into account: thebreakthrough.org/issues/energy/… 3/4
For more on the various factors driving US CO2 reductions – including the role of efficiency – see my @CarbonBrief analysis: carbonbrief.org/analysis-why-u… 4/4
The UK is also a good example of renewables (and, earlier on, natural gas) driving big drops in power-sector CO2 emissions. There coal has been effectively eliminated: carbonbrief.org/analysis-why-t…
