The essay page accompanying the graphic makes a nowadays too-typical optimistic pitch: Yes, the US and OECD energy sector is decreasing emissions and emissions-per-unit-GDP is dropping, but total emissions are still increasing in the OECD -- that is, our growth (in consumption and production) significantly outpaces our efficiency gains. [This was wrong when I typed it, which is why I usually link to stuff in-line and don't just go by what I remember from podcasts in November -- I'll have to make the corrections later tonight.] Among other things, this makes us look doubly hypocritical when we say to middle-income countries and India especially that they need to moderate their own pace of growth (against more expensive and slow-to-build upfront infrastructure costs that would all have to be subsidized) for the sake of CC mitigation.