Renewables alone won’t slow climate change if Asia doesn’t abandon coal

A report by the International Energy Agency on the use of this fossil fuel calls on the most dependent countries such as China and India to abandon them before 2030

The International Energy Agency (IEA) today publishes a study in which it analyzes the use of coal as a fuel used, essentially, to generate electricity in a significant part of the world. Despite the carbon emissions and the consequent greenhouse effect generated by this fuel, investments in this regard do not regress in economies as relevant as China, India or, to a lesser extent, South Africa or Indonesia.

“Far from declining, global coal demand has remained stable at near-record levels over the past decade. If nothing is done, existing carbon emissions would, by themselves, push the world to the 1.5°C limit,” the Agency warns in its report. Thus, it concludes that renewables alone, despite the strength and expansion they are experiencing, and that they will experience thanks to the investment plans of superpowers such as the EU and the US, will not be enough to curb global warming.

“More than 95% of global coal consumption occurs in countries that have committed to reducing their emissions to zero,” says IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “But while there is an encouraging push towards clean energy expansion in many governments’ policy responses to the current energy crisis, a major unresolved problem is how to deal with the huge amount of existing coal assets around the world.”

To offer solutions and strategies that help to walk the path of decarbonization, the aforementioned work published today on the occasion of the celebration of Energy Day at the world climate summit in Egypt, COP27 (entitled ‘Carbon towards the transition to zero emissions: strategies for rapid and safe change’), the Agency carries out what it has described as the most comprehensive analysis published to date of what is needed to reduce global carbon emissions fast enough to meet international climate goals while supporting the energy security and economic growth of the countries involved. Nothing more and nothing less.

Young plants in Asia, at the center of the problem

Among the countries mentioned especially directly by the study are countries where coal dependence is high and transitions are likely to be more challenging, such as Indonesia, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, India and South Africa.

Today, there are about 9,000 coal-fired power plants worldwide, representing 2,185 gigawatts of capacity. Their age profile varies greatly by region, from an average of more than 40 years in the United States to less than 15 years in developing Asian economies.

“Coal-fired industrial facilities are equally durable, and investment decisions are expected to be made this decade that will largely shape the prospects for coal use in heavy industry in the coming years,” the International Energy Agency’s paper notes.

The youth of these coal-fired power plants distributed in Asia, especially in China, complicates the objectives of reducing global emissions and achieving a decarbonized economy. “If operated over the lifetime and typical utilization rates, the existing coal fleet worldwide, excluding plants now under construction, would emit more than the historical emissions to date of all coal plants that have ever operated,” the report said.

Source: ABC