Obsessing about Chinese coal power, and its imagined effect on air temperatures, doesn’t stop the same people doing the obsessing from buying Chinese products made using that power, such as wind turbines, batteries and solar panels.
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China ramped up coal power capacity last year, according to new analysis, despite a pledge to “strictly control” the dirtiest fossil fuel, says Sky News.
The country added 47.4 Gigawatts (GW) of new coal power in 2023, more than double the amount added by the rest of the world combined.
It raises concerns that gains in clean power, including by China, are being undermined by the persistent use of coal, the worst energy form for climate change and air pollution. [Talkshop comment – CO2 makes zero difference to air pollution].
On Wednesday the UN climate chief Simon Stiell said humanity has “two years to save the world”, as he sought to galvanise leaders to step up climate action.
Analysts say China may not use all the capacity it has built.
Beijing has promised to reduce coal consumption from 2026, and said its polices align with the international Paris Agreement on climate.
Meanwhile global coal capacity outside China increased for the first time since 2019, a trend Global Energy Monitor (GEM) called “concerning”.
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China has recently built more solar power than the rest of the world combined, and is on track to meet a 2030 clean power goal five years early.
The surge is partly fuelled by power shortage fears after a 2022 drought shrivelled water supplies for China’s hydropower.
Full article here.
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Image: Coal-hungry China [credit: democraticunderground.com]
via Tallbloke’s Talkshop
April 11, 2024 at 07:14AM
Iowa Climate Science Education 