Cold Hard Coal Numbers That Could Heat The World
If the world builds every coal plant that’s planned, climate change goals are doomed, scientists say
Chris Mooney, February 7, 2018 (Washington Post)
“…[Turkey, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and China could increase their emissions from coal dramatically between now and 2030, based on current plans…In combination with already existing infrastructure, these planned or in-construction plants, if run for a standard plant lifetime, could burn up much of the remaining carbon budget for holding Earth’s temperature increase below two degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, according to new research. It] is based on a concept of ‘lock-in’ or ‘committed’ emissions: Once a coal plant is completed and put into service, the thinking goes, it’s likely to operate for long time to justify the cost of the investment…[The research finds the five countries 73 percent] of the global coal-fired capacity that is currently under construction or planned…Vietnam, if plans are carried forward, could see 948 percent growth in coal emissions…[But only about 700 billion tons of carbon dioxide can] still be emitted, after the year 2016, to preserve good odds of holding the temperature increase below two degrees Celsius. Existing coal plants and other infrastructure are capable of consuming 500 billion tons on their own…New coal plants that are underway or planned, meanwhile, could consume another 150 billion tons…[That leaves 4 options: (1) shut down coal plants early, (2) retrofit expensive carbon capture technologies, (3) suck even more CO2 out of the atmosphere, potentially at high cost, or (4) burn through the 2 degree C target.” click here for more
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