The world continues to be creating new coal energy, regardless of it being essentially the most polluting fossil gas, of guarantees to section down coal and regardless of agreements that every one coal stations ought to shut by 2040.
These are the damning conclusions of a report by California-based NGO Global Energy Monitor (GEM), which tracks vitality initiatives world wide.
Nearly all newly commissioned coal initiatives are in China, stated GEM, which referred to as China the “glaring exception to the ongoing global decline in coal plant development”.
The world already has round 2,100 gigawatts (GW) of capability already, whereas an extra 176 GW of coal capability is below development at greater than 189 vegetation, and an additional 280 GW is deliberate.
The world capability to burn coal grew by 19.5 gigawatts final yr, sufficient to gentle up about 15 million houses.
That 1% enhance comes simply because the world ought to be retiring its coal fleet 4 and a half instances sooner to satisfy local weather objectives, the report stated.
“At this rate, the transition away from existing and new coal isn’t happening fast enough to avoid climate chaos,” stated Flora Champenois, the report’s lead creator.
At COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, the largest local weather summit in 5 years, international locations promised to section down the usage of coal to assist restrict warming to 1.5C above ranges earlier than the economic revolution – a goal set out within the Paris Agreement.
The variety of coal vegetation earmarked for closure then doubled, however “coal’s last gasp is not yet in sight” the report stated.
All governments have signed off a report by United Nations scientists that concludes all coal energy vegetation should shut by 2040 so as to meet Paris Agreement targets.
Rich international locations ought to shut theirs even sooner, by 2030, the IPCC stated.
“At a time when developed countries should be helping the rest of the world both end new coal plant construction and begin their coal transitions in earnest, many are instead planning to operate their coal plants at home far beyond the deadlines required by climate science”, stated GEM.
In latest years Japan, South Korea, and China and all G20 international locations pledged to finish public help for brand spanking new worldwide coal vegetation, that means there may be primarily no vital worldwide public financier remaining for brand spanking new coal vegetation.
But China has ploughed on domestically. In 2021, development began on 33 GW of recent coal energy vegetation, essentially the most since 2016 and virtually thrice as a lot as the remainder of the world put collectively.
The superpower is the world’s largest producer, accounting for round 30% of the worldwide sector, and its emissions per capita put it in forty eighth on the planet.
While China accounted for 92% of all new coal challenge bulletins, international locations together with India, Indonesia, Turkey and Zimbabwe each added new coal vegetation and introduced new initiatives.
‘Long time period trajectory nonetheless in the direction of clear vitality’
But “the long term trajectory is still towards clean energy”, stated Shantanu Srivastava, an vitality analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis who relies in New Delhi.
In Europe, the place the Russian invasion of Ukraine meant a scramble for different vitality sources and droughts stifled hydropower, the continent solely noticed a really minor enhance in coal use.
The world’s main vitality company, the IEA, has stated the disaster “turbocharged” the expansion of renewable energy as international locations raced to strengthen vitality safety.
As fuel costs soared, the UK final summer time negotiated contingency contracts with a lot of coal turbines for the winter, extending the life of 5 items that had been attributable to retire.
Although they had been warmed up throughout occasional chilly spells, solely two of the items had been ultimately used to supply energy throughout a short interval in early March.
With practically 2,500 vegetation world wide, coal accounts for a couple of third of the entire quantity of vitality set up globally. Other fossil fuels, nuclear vitality and renewable energy make up the remainder.
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