Renewable energy such as wind and solar projects are already cheaper to build than it is to continue operating 40 percent of the world's existing coal fleet, according to analysis released Tuesday.
In a report outlining how the world can phase out the most polluting fuel while powering an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, a group of experts said coal had reached a financial "tipping point" making it uncompetitive in most markets.
The authors estimate that a third of the global coal fleet is already more costly to run than it is to build new renewable power solutions, including battery storage.
That figure is set to rise to 73 percent of the fleet by 2025, said the analysis, which also found that replacing the entire coal fleet with clean energy could be done at a net saving to the global economy as soon as 2022.
"A faster transition from coal to clean energy is within our grasp, and we show how to engineer that transition in ways that will save money for electricity customers around the world while aiding a just transition for workers and communities," said Paul Bodnar, managing director of the Rocky Mountain think tank which co-produced the research.
The 2015 Paris climate deal enjoins nations to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius (3.6 Farenheit) above pre-industrial temperatures through sweeping emissions cuts.
The accord strives for a safer heating cap of 1.5C.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that for the 1.5C goal to remain in reach, global coal use must decline by 80 percent below 2010 levels by 2030.
The analysis found that 81 percent of the European Union's coal fleet was already uncompetitive today—meaning that without state support the plants would cease to be going concerns.
In China that figure stands at 43 percent currently, rising to nearly 100 percent in five years.
The report did not take into account the environmental and health impacts of coal.
"Coal power is quickly facing economic obsolescence, independent of carbon pricing and air pollution policies," said Matt Gray, managing director and co-head of power and utilities at the Carbon Tracker Initiative.
"Closing coal capacity and replacing it with lower cost alternatives will not only save consumers and taxpayers money, but could also play a major role in the upcoming economic recovery."
Here’s what Russia’s 2020 disinformation operations look like, according to two experts on social media and propaganda. By DARREN LINVILL & PATRICK WARREN Internet trolls don’t troll. Not the professionals at least. Professional trolls don’t go on social media to antagonize liberals or belittle conservatives. They are not narrow minded, drunk or angry. They don’t lack basic English language skills. They certainly aren’t “somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds,” as the president once put it. Your stereotypical trolls do exist on social media, but the amateurs aren’t a threat to Western democracy. Professional trolls, on the other hand, are the tip of the spear in the new digital, ideological battleground. To combat the threat they pose, we must first understand them — and take them seriously. MORE: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russia-troll-2020-election-interference-twitter-916482/ Posted by Jamie B.
The Nightmare Scenario That Keeps Election Lawyers Up At Night -- And Could Hand Trump A Second Term (Photo: Photos: Getty Images) Americans will almost certainly go to bed on Nov. 3 without knowing who won the presidential election. Since millions of people will vote by mail, constraints on time and resources will slow ballot counting into potentially a weeks-long process. Voting patterns suggest it’s likely that President Donald Trump could end Election Day in the lead in certain key states, only to be overtaken by Democratic opponent Joe Biden when more votes are tallied. This could create a nightmare scenario during the three months stretching from Election Day to the Jan. 20 inauguration: a battle on the state and congressional level over who is the legitimate winner. This could include Congress reconvening on Jan. 6, presided over by Vice President Mike Pence , with no consensus over its potential role in choosing the next president. This is arguably the most likely of th
Here is an interesting question in my list of philosophical questions: 1.) Should governments have penalties for those who live unhealthy lifestyles? A list of unhealthy lifestyles would include things like smoking, drinking, illegal drugs, prostitution, and other “vice” type activities. I guess the “government penalties” would be referring to monetary punishments, withholding medical treatments (insurance companies would love that), possibly imposing/regulating very high (exorbitant) prices on things considered unhealthy in order to cut down on their use, and other possibilities. 2.) Or, would you say that living an unhealthy lifestyle, likely resulting in a LOT of eventual personal pain and suffering, should be punishment enough for unhealthy lifestyles? When people make bad choices in life, often in their youth where ignorance and immediate gratification takes them over, 3.) Should a society be obligated to help "fix" them, by way of tax money? Is that part of
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