Coal news and updates

While the long-term focus is on 2050 or 2100, what matters now is the next ten years. If we miss bending the rising emissions curve downward by around 2020, we may well miss the chance to avoid the worst climate damage.

We looked at all the major emitting sectors and the most recent scientific analyses of what can be done – and how fast – to come up with a list of the most important things to do in the next five to ten years to bend the emissions curve downwards.

 

Here’s the good news: for all areas, we show signs that a transition of this magnitude is possible. In many cases, it’s already happening.

 

Phasing out coal

 

The scientific literature shows that decarbonising the electric power sector is the most important, fastest and cheapest step, reinforced by rapid reductions in the price of renewable technologies such as wind and solar power.

 

The most important thing to know about the feasibility of reducing CO2 emissions from the power sector to zero by 2050 is this: if we continue the growth rate of wind and solar we’ve seen in the past few years for the next decade globally, we will be well on the way to achieving this goal.

 

That means we will need to phase out coal. We need to reduce emissions from existing power stations – but that is already happening – and we will need to cancel any new coal capacity in the world.

 

We know that renewables, energy efficiency and, in a number of cases, natural gas, can meet foreseen power needs, while lifting millions of people out of poverty. Reducing coal emissions from power will have substantial benefits for human health: more than half the pollutants that cause damage to human lives, ecosystems and agriculture comes from fossil fuels.

 

A number of governments have already committed to doing this: we’ve seen China’s emissions peak in 2013 and continue to drop. The UK has promised to phase out coal by 2025; and we’ve seen regions in other countries, such South Australia, close their last coal plants.

 

All this takes is political will and effort, and a just transition for workers that enables communities to move from coal to alternative means of employment and energy production.

SOurce:Business Standerd