Coal Energy plants biggest risk for climate emergency: UNEP

“The next decade will be defining- postponing ambition and action is no longer an option, if we want the goals of Paris Agreement to be within reach,” warned the report in conclusion.


Devdiscourse News Desk | New Delhi | Updated: 12-12-2019 15:37 IST | Created: 30-11-2019 17:50 IST
Coal Energy plants biggest risk for climate emergency: UNEP
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United Nations Energy Program has identified coal based power plants as the largest contributor in greenhouse emissions which are causing global warming and climate emergency. In a recent report – Lessons from a Decade of Emissions Gap Estimates – the agency has cautioned that without energy transition the 1.5-degree Celsius target of the United Nations would be ‘infeasible’.

“At the global scale the stock of coal fired power plants is still increasing, as are emissions from coal. The existing stocks, in combination with what is currently planned, and being built (assuming standard lifetime and usage rates) alone account for a significant share of the available carbon budget for a 2-degree Celsius target, and would plausibly make a 1.5-degree Celsius target infeasible,” said the report. The report has suggested a global ‘lock-in’ on coal based power plants in the future besides gradual phasing out of existing coal-fired power plants. As the new technology for energy transition to cleaner energy are available, the energy sector also has the largest scope in reducing emission gap - the difference between emission target of greenhouse gases to maintain global warming at 1.5 degree Celsius and actual emission, globally.

The report also highlights that if the available technology and alternate renewable sources of energy are properly utilized, the potential of energy sector in reducing the emission gap by 2030 would be equal to industry and forestry put together. In a report in 2017, the UNEP had identified six major sectors for reducing emission gap to achieve the target of 1.5 degree Celsius. They are energy, industry, forestry, transport, agriculture, and buildings. If the potential of the proven technologies is used by the economies across the world, emissions could be reduced by 33 GtCO2e (hereafter, unit) out of which 21 units could be solar energy, wind energy, efficient appliances, efficient passenger cars, afforestation and controlling deforestation. However, the report has also cautioned the nations to plan holistically including alternative job for employees and rehabilitation of the engaged communities. The report highlights that only a fraction of the potential was ‘currently captured’. The UNEP has also pitched for withdrawal of subsidies from fossil fuels as it would help in 10 percent of global emissions by 2030. 

“The next decade will be defining- postponing ambition and action is no longer an option, if we want the goals of Paris Agreement to be within reach,” warned the report in conclusion.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has also alarmed for immediate action on global warming and climate change. According to its recent report, the concentration of Carbon Dioxide, Methane and Nitrous Oxide had reached a record high in 2018 measuring 407, 1869 and 331 units respectively. Besides, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also shows that from 1990 to 2018, the radiative long lived greenhouse gases (LLGHGs) increased by 43 percent with CO2 accounting for 80 percent for this increase.

As the leaders from across the world will gather in Madrid for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) from 2-13 December, the climate activists are expecting some major decisions to reduce emission gap. 

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