Big news from the International Energy Agency (IEA) today.

As the New York Times reported in their Global Edition, the IEA released a report today that offers a silver lining to the otherwise painful impacts of the “Great Recession”: CO₂ levels are projected to decrease roughly 3% this year, the first time in the 40 plus years of data collection that such a significant decrease has been recorded.

In short: we are producing, building, and consuming less, and requiring less energy in the process, which in turn means that less CO₂ is being generated and accumulated in the atmosphere. As an active participant in this current recession, I take some solace in that. Unfortunately, it makes for a fairly straightforward counter-argument to getting serious at Copenhagen: action to address climate change will bring further economic hardship. Well, not necessarily.

Because the other part of the Times story that grabbed me, and led me to review the report more carefully, are the adjustments that the Agency is making with regard to its CO₂ projections for China. It would seem that China’s efforts to rapidly move its economy toward greater energy efficiency, nuclear, and renewable energy technologies are paying earlier dividends for global climate targets. China is getting there faster than the experts had initially thought, which I guess should not be that surprising.

For all the negative trends, there are some encouraging signs from China these days. More Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects are registered in China than anywhere else in the world. China’s investment in renewable energy technologies and electric vehicles has increased dramatically in recent years — 2008 saw a 50% increase in available wind installations alone. The Chinese are positioning themselves to be global leaders in the technologies that lead to more sustainable energy production, and the central government has begun to show increasing signs of change and realignment in its climate policy.

It makes sense. China stands to gain from being proactive and taking a leadership role in addressing climate change, especially if the United States lags. Economically they have a better chance of sustaining their growth and development, and ultimately surpassing the US, if they do so through less resource intensive methods. Environmentally, the faster they can do so buys us all time.

Hopefully this is one of many more reports of this sort to come. It is the kind of news we need to keep making, hearing, and spreading.

Given no shortage of remaining challenges, these efforts, if they do indeed continue and accelerate, will play an important part in allowing all of us to make serious enough headway in addressing CO₂ levels to hopefully buy just enough time to figure out how we plan to live in a world with changing environmental conditions.

China transitioning to clean energy and manufacturing low cost photovoltaic panels or adaptation-geared technologies is an important piece of the equation. It is an opportunity, not a threat. And while this recession sucks, I’m happy with this piece of news.