The week in green numbers…

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1 trillion: The US-dollar dent in coal mining revenues that IEA estimates suggest we will see, annually, under its “450 scenario,” where coal prices slump as rigorous climate policies “lead to a collapse in demand.”

59: The gigawatts of aging US coal-fired generation (on top of the 41.2GW already slated for closure) that could cost-effectively be replaced with natural gas, renewable energy or efficiency options, without impacting the grid, according to a Union of Concerned Scientist study released Tuesday.

523 billion: The US-dollar amount spent on global fossil fuel subsidies over 2011 – a 30 per cent year-on-year increase, according to the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2012.

88 billion: The US-dollar amount spent on subsidies for renewable energy projects globally in 2011 – although the IEA estimates this spend will approach $240 billion in 2035.

5: The number of years that the IEA predicts we could delay the onset of “dangerous climate change” by ramping up global energy efficiency measures, including a $US11.8 trillion investment in efficiency technologies – an amount the Agency’s report says would be more than offset by the resulting $18 trillion boost to the world economy by 2035.

11: The percentage by which the UK’s energy use would be cut by 2020 with the introduction a raft of energy efficiency measures,  according to the UK government’s first national Energy Efficiency Strategy estimates – a saving of 196TWh of energy generation, which is the equivalent to output from 22 power stations.

66: The number of coal-seam gas wells AGL Energy hopes to drill in south-west Sydney under a proposal that is currently being considered by the NSW Planning Assessment Commission – the first major CSG plan to be assessed under new ”state significant development” planning rules.

200: The mandatory minimum distance, in metres, that is required to exist between a coal-seam gas well and an occupied dwelling in NSW.

2000: The mandatory distance, in metres, that is required to exist between a wind turbine and an occupied residence in Victoria – unless there is a written agreement with the relevant landowners – under the state’s recently amended planning laws.

583 billion: The cubic metres of water that was used to meet the world’s growing energy needs in 2010 – more than is discharged each year by India’s Ganges River.

900 million: The number of carbon permits whose sale the European Union has revealed it will delay, to curb an oversupply in the world’s biggest emissions market.

Sophie Vorrath

Sophie is editor of Renew Economy and editor of its sister site, One Step Off The Grid . She is the co-host of the Solar Insiders Podcast. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.

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