In Texas, income from electricity sales does not even cover the direct costs of coal power plants. But their hidden costs are much higher, explains Daniel Cohen of Rice University in Houston. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Uneconomic coal could be squeezed out of European Union power markets by 2030
Coalâs time is running out in Europe: deteriorating economics and stronger climate policies will soon make coal uneconomic, writes Silvio Marcacci of think tank Energy Innovation. Many European countries have already set an end date for coal power, utilities and investors are shifting away from it. The question is not if coal will lose, but when, and how well-managed its exit will be. … [Read more...]
Decarbonising heavy industry can’t be done without large-scale CCS effort
The decarbonisation will require a profound transformation, writes David Hone, Chief Climate Change Advisor at Shell. Shellâs Sky climate scenario shows it can't be done without large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS). A new initiative should boost progress on CCS. … [Read more...]
The plethora of better alternatives to wind and solar power and electric cars
Technology neutrality can activate more than ten times greater sustainable development potential than current technology-forcing policies, writes independent researcher Schalk Cloete. In the second part of a series which follows an article about the dangers of technology-forcing of wind and solar power and battery electric vehicles, Cloete reviews eight alternative sustainable development solutions that he believes have greater climate mitigation … [Read more...]
EU policy must wake up to carbon dioxide removal
Most scenarios to meet the Paris Agreementâs targets require negative emissions technologies. However, carbon dioxide removal is not part of the EUâs climate policy yet. Its integration presents a serious challenge to the EUâs low-carbon policy paradigm and experience, write Oliver Geden of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Vivian Scott of the University of Edinburgh and James Palmer of the University of Bristol. … [Read more...]
How Shellâs new Sky scenario achieves net zero emissions
In Shell's recently published Sky climate scenario, the energy system reaches net zero emissions by 2070 using several technologies that are at an early stage. David Hone, Chief Climate Change Advisor at Shell, explains how this would work and why Shell regards this scenario as plausible. Courtesy David Honeâs Shell Climate Change blog … [Read more...]
Poland’s love affair with coal: can the EU do anything about it?
The Polish governmentâs strong commitment to coal goes against EU policy direction and against market conditions, write Anna Mikulska of the Baker Instituteâs Center for Energy Studies and Eryk Kosinski of Adam Mickiewicz University. But coal has a special place in the nationâs collective heart. To wean Poland off coal will require EU support to coal-dependent regions and for alternative energy sources, the authors argue. … [Read more...]
Shellâs new SKY scenario shows how to meet the goals of the Paris agreement
Shell has launched a new scenario that illustrates a "technically possible but challenging pathway" for society to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The Sky outlook sees a rapid energy transition taking place over 50 years reaching net-zero emissions in the energy system by 2070. Courtesy David Honeâs Shell Climate Change blog. … [Read more...]
How the International Energy Agency is steering the world to climate disaster
The International Energy Agency (IEA) likes to present itself as a climate champion, but it is in fact steering the energy system towards catastrophic levels of warming, writes Greg Muttitt, Senior Advisor at NGO Oil Change International. The IEA is supposed to be an advisory body to its members countries, Muttit notes, but its real masters appear to be the fossil fuel companies. … [Read more...]
100% renewable energy for 139 nations detailed in Stanford report
Mark Z. Jacobson, the famed professor at the Stanford School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences, and 26 of his colleagues have compiled a report that shows exactly how 139 nations could transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050 without throwing millions of people out of work. In fact, they contend that the changeover would actually spur job growth while dramatically reducing carbon emissions, writes Steve Hanley. Article courtesy of … [Read more...]
Will clean coal be allowed to develop in Europe?
EU and national energy policies are strongly focused on promoting the use of renewable energy. However, EU policymakers should not overlook progress being made in traditional energy sources, especially in coal power plants, writes Pieter Cleppe, head of the Brussels office of think tank Open Europe. According to Cleppe, a significant expansion of âclean coalâ â which involves both carbon capture and storage (CCS) and supercritical power plants â … [Read more...]
Why the International Energy Agency still gets it wrong on fossil fuels
The IEA (International Energy Agency) has produced a remarkable and alarming report, together with IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency), warning that âunprecedentedâ and âunparalleledâ efforts are necessary âimmediatelyâ and âacross all countriesâ to stave off climate disaster. Yet it still sees a significant role for fossil fuels in 2050. How is this possible? Greg Muttitt, Senior Advisor at NGO Oil Change International, argues that the … [Read more...]
Global coal power: capacity keeps going up, utilisation goes down
While the amount of electricity generated from coal has declined for two years in a row, and utilisation rates of coal power plants have been going down, energy companies continue to build new coal-fired generating plants âat a rapid pace, creating an increasingly severe capacity bubbleâ, according a new report based on the Global Coal Plant Tracker published by the NGOâs CoalSwarm, Sierra Club and Greenpeace. Worldwide the equivalent of 1500 … [Read more...]
Carbon capture and storage comeback must focus on industry not energy
Since the Paris climate agreement and its ambitious resolve to keep global warming to 1.5C over pre-industrial temperatures, a number of influential publications have been declaring the death of carbon capture and storage (CCS). But critics fail to make a distinction between CCS for power plants and for industrial manufacturing, writes Charles Digges of the Norwegian NGO Bellona. CCS is the only way to substantially reduce industrial emissions. … [Read more...]
Buying Vattenfallâs lignite business could be a risky bet
Vattenfall is currently looking for a buyer for its German lignite assets. However, any potential investor faces a high risk that they will find themselves forced to wind down the business before earning back their investment, write Julian Schwartzkopff and Sabrina Schulz of international environmental organisation E3G. In this article, a shortened version of their new report Vattenfallâs Lignite Business â a Risky Bet for Investors, they explain … [Read more...]
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