Emissions in electricity fall due to less use of coal and higher price per ton of CO ₂ according to Ecologists

The electricity sector emitted 24.7 tons of CO₂ in the first half of 2019, which is 10.2 percent less than in the same period of the previous year, and the second lowest figure in the last nine years, according to data from Red Eléctrica Española (REE) compiled by Europa Press. This drop is produced, according to WWF, by a lower use of coal and a higher price per ton of _CO2.

The head of WWF’s Climate and Energy Program, Mar Asunción, explained to Europa Press that electricity generation from coal went from 18% of the energy mix in January of this year to 4% in June. On the contrary, gas production suffered a large increase, going from 14% in January to 32% in June, “almost doubling”.

In the opinion of that expert, the fact that production from coal requires the purchase of a large volume of emission allowances when the price per tonne of CO₂ has gone from 5 euros in 2017 to 25 in 2019 makes it “not profitable”.

For her part, the head of Greenpeace’s Energy and Climate Change Campaign, Tatiaña Nuño, adds that more electricity has also begun to be generated from combined cycle that, although it is fossil fuel, emits less _CO2 than coal.

“More gas combined cycles have run, less coal and there has been more hydropower compared to previous years. In addition, renewable energies have been better used,” he added.

According to data from Red Eléctrica Española (REE), until June 2019, 30.4% fewer tons of _CO2 were emitted by the electricity sector than in 2011, the first year for which data on these emissions are provided by REE.

Of these nine years, 2012 was the one that recorded the highest volume of _CO2 emissions during the first half, with 43.6 million tons.

In the first half of 2019, 33.4% of _CO2 emissions correspond to the combined cycle; 33 per cent to coal; 22.6% to cogeneration; 9%, fuel and gas; and 1% to non-renewable waste.

Meanwhile, in the same period last year, 52.2 percent of the emissions generated corresponded to coal. Emissions generated by energy produced from coal have fallen by 42.6 percent this year.

Source: The Vanguard