An expert analysis, released today by a group of four research organisations known as Climate Action Tracker (CAT), found that emissions from new coal fired power plants could take emissions from the sector 400% higher than levels needed to stay below 2°C.
In seven of the nine countries studied – China, EU28, India, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Turkey – planned coal plants threaten the achievement of their national action plans to reduce carbon emissions, presented at the Paris climate summit, and which Carbon Tracker ranks as only medium or inadequate, meaning they are not sufficient to keep global warming below 2°C.
“Their combined planned new coal capacity (2,011 new coal plants, totalling 1,210GW) could put them in an even worse situation,” the CAT analysis stated.
The estimated emissions impact of planned plants that have been announced and pre-permitted – i.e. not under construction or permitted – would be 3.5 giga tonnes of carbon emissions (GtCO2 ). Cancelling these plants could lead to emissions reductions of 2GtCO2 below current policy levels, bringing countries closer to their proposed national emissions reduction commitments.
Pieter Van Breevoort, of Ecofys, said: “There is a solution to this issue of too many coal plants on the books: cancel them. Renewable energy and stricter pollution standards are making coal plants obsolete around the world, and the earlier a coal plant is taken out of the planning process, the less it will cost.”
Hagemann said the decreasing costs of renewable energy were likely to play a big factor in decisions on future coal plants.
“It is unlikely that all of these planned coal plants are going to be built, especially when low carbon alternatives are reaching price parity. If renewables take off as fast as is currently expected, many of these planned coal plants could be stranded investments or would have to operate under difficult financial circumstances,” Hagemann said.
The Climate Action Tracker (CAT) is an independent scientific analysis produced by four research organisations – Climate Analytics, the NewClimate Institute, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Ecofys – tracking climate action and global efforts towards the globally agreed aim of holding warming below 2°C.
Transmission remains the fundamental building block to decarbonising the grid. But the LNP is making…
Snowy blames bad weather for yet more delays to controversial Hunter gas project, now expected…
In 2024, Renew Economy's traffic jumped 50 per cent to more than 24 million page…
In our final episode for the year, SunWiz's Warwick Johnston on the highs and the…
CEFC winds up 2024 with record investment in two huge transmission projects, as Marinus reveals…
Regulator says big energy players are manipulating prices to their benefit. It's not illegal, but…