COP21: Emissions warning over planned coal-fired plants

If all coal-fired power plants in the pipeline were to be built, emissions from this sector would be 400 per cent higher in 2030 than what would be consistent with a two-degree pathway, according to new analysis released at COP21.

Despite the need to phase out emissions from coal-fired power generation to hold warming below two degrees, many governments – including several in the EU – are still planning to build significant coal power capacity, according to Climate Action Tracker (CAT) analysis.

In many emerging economies, coal capacity is built to meet rapidly increasing electricity demand, while in the EU, new coal plants are mainly to replace existing capacity.

Ireland’s huge coal-fired power plant at Moneypoint, Co Clare, is now 40 years old.

Pledges

CAT looked at eight countries that plan to build more than 5GW of capacity: China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, the Philippines and Turkey, as well as the EU – nearly all of which have submitted climate pledges rated as “medium to inadequate”.

The estimated emissions impact of planned coal plants that have been announced and pre- permitted – ie not yet under construction – would be 3.5 gigatonnes, while cancelling these plants could lead to emissions reductions of two gigatonnes below current levels.

Using updated Coal Swarm data, CAT revealed there were 2,440 planned coal plants around the world.

These plants should be cancelled said Pieter Van Breevoort of environmental consultancy Ecofys. "Renewable energy and stricter pollution standards are making coal plants obsolete around the world, and the earlier a coal plant is taken out of the planning process, the less it will cost."

Markus Hagemann of the New Climate Institute said the decreasing cost of renewable energy was likely to be a big factor. "It is unlikely that all of these planned coal plants are going to be built, especially when low-carbon alternatives are reaching price parity."

If renewables take off as fast as is expected, he warned many of these planned coal plants could end up as “stranded assets”. Not building them would be the cheapest option, he said.