You may sense the caveat coming this time: A hefty chunk of France’s alternative mix comes from nuclear energy, an edge case for many environmentalists. We’re giving France a pass this time – after all, it IS low-carbon — but depending on your stance you may or may not consider this the energy equivalent of a doping scandal.
One thing that, sadly, did not surprise us was how dismally the U.S. performed overall. With a skyscraping 17.6 tons of CO2 per American, unmatched in the league, even our bronze-medal GDP per capita (lagging behind Switzerland and Australia) of $51,750 couldn’t save us. Then again, the Yanks are a long shot to win the real copa: The U.S. will play Germany, Ghana, and Portugal in its group. So we’ll need all the luck we can get.