Headline, November 05 2022/ ''' '' CRISES* -COAL- CAREENS '' '''

''' '' CRISES* -COAL-

 CAREENS '' '''

CHINA - INDIA - VIETNAM - INDONESIA - AND SOUTH AFRICA rely heavily on coal for economic development. Nearly 1,000 new coal-fired power plants are planned around the world. We should not be building any.

Many factors are stacked in coal's favor. Political and business elites are often highly invested in coal. Coal also supports tens of millions of lives directly and indirectly, and these are often concentrated in politically important regions like 

West Virginia in the U.S. Mpumalanga in South Africa and Odisha in India.

TO AVERT worsening climate disasters, all sectors of the economy must be transformed by midcentury. But one task is more urgent than all others, the rapd phase-down of planet warming emissions from coal-fired power plants in emerging economies.

The world's leaders are falling badly in meeting this goal. Burning coal for electricity is the single largest source of global greenhouse gas emissions. Every year it accounts for about 10 billion tons of carbon-dioxide - more than 70 percent of global fossil fuel emissions from electricity generation.

And we're continuing to move in the wrong direction. Since 1990, the world has doubled its emissions from coal-fired power. There are now more than 6, 500 plants. At least an additional 941 are planned.

According to our calculations at the Rockefeller Foundation, combined, they would emit 273 billion tons of carbon dioxide if allowed to operate for their normal operational lifetime of about 40 years -which is equivalent to nearly eight years of all carbon dioxide pollution globally.

These missions would presage humanitarian crises that can scarcely be imagined for the world's most vulnerable communities.

WE NEED to stop building coal plants immediately and cut coal emissions in roughly half by 2030 to keep global warming to below 2 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels. That is the upper limit for warming set by the United Nations to avoid escalating climate risks.

We must also accelerate the replacement of existing coal plants with clean power, which will unlock the potential to decarbonize transportation, buildings and industry. Innovative political and financial solutions are emerging. The question is : Will we harness them?

Cleaner and more cost-effective technologies are already available. Wind and solar are now the cheapest sources of new generation in most of the world.

By 2030, it is likely that few coal plants will be able to compete with clean energy. The difference in costs is so great now that in many cases, it makes more economic sense to invest in renewable power with storage and use and use a portion of the income to buy out coal contracts, decommission plants and compensate affected workers and others.

The 38 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have seen emissions from coal plants decline by an average of 6 percent annually since 2014, according to our calculations.

However, those emission reductions have been overwhelmed by emission growth in emerging nations, which now account for 79 percent of the global total, again according to our calculations.

China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia and South Africa are among the countries that have relied heavily on coal for economic development.

Moving away from coal, therefore, must be just if it is to prove politically and socially sustainable. By that I mean the transition must create paths to a brighter future for the affected workers and others.

It cannot exacerbate existing inequities or create other ones.

Together, the public and private worlds must shape solutions to make them work. They may represent our last chance to deliver a safe climate future.

The Honour and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research on coal-burning addiction and world climate crises, continues. The World Students Society thanks author Joseph Curtin for his opinion.

With respectful dedication to the Leaders, Grandparents, Parents, and then Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all prepare and register for Great Global Elections on The World Students Society - the exclusive ownership of every student in the world : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter - !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless