The IEA estimates that CO2 emissions will increase by almost 5% this year to 33 billion tonnes. The critical driver is coal demand, which the IEA predicts to grow by 4.5%. The electricity sector accounts for three-quarters of this increase.
Lovely pictures to balance with a dreary topic. But I saw something I didn't expect to cheer me up within your message. Coal is the big conundrum in the fight against the use of GHGs. Here, you point out that 3/4 of coal is used to generate electricity. If fusion energy, or small fission reactors become practical, they could replace that coal very quickly. (Solar and wind preferred, but not likely to have enough energy density.) Coal-fired generating stations are connected to electricity grids and thus are already set up to distribute that energy.
It's much harder to replace coal in many isolated industrial situations like cement and steel-making. Fortunately, those uses are less significant globally.
Thank you, Doug, yes you could say that renewable sources for electrification are the 'low hanging fruit', much more than steel and cement. And I hope fusion will be added to the possibilities. Still, the challenges are so incredibly huge. The big change with last year is that more and more governments finally seem to take this seriously, it looks like 2021 will be a very important year to see what commitments governments are prepared to make, with this Thursday's summit and COP26 as two key moments.
Yes, a rebound of the economy after a dip. Governments and businesses are eager to make up for the 'losses' of the previous year, but the economic gain means in pre-transformation economies an environmental loss.
Lovely photos but an alarming article. Yes, we now have a president who cares about the climate. This week even the major networks have been doing stories about climate change and what measures can be taken to decelerate some of the effects of our mechanized nations. How many are viable and will really affect carbon emission is debatable. At least with such coverage of the topic and under the prodding of constituents perhaps legislators will take action.
I agree, and your country seems to have chosen a different leader this time, one that does care and does make climate action a priority. Excited to see what will be announced tomorrow during the summit on Earth Day
Lovely pictures to balance with a dreary topic. But I saw something I didn't expect to cheer me up within your message. Coal is the big conundrum in the fight against the use of GHGs. Here, you point out that 3/4 of coal is used to generate electricity. If fusion energy, or small fission reactors become practical, they could replace that coal very quickly. (Solar and wind preferred, but not likely to have enough energy density.) Coal-fired generating stations are connected to electricity grids and thus are already set up to distribute that energy.
It's much harder to replace coal in many isolated industrial situations like cement and steel-making. Fortunately, those uses are less significant globally.
Thank you, Doug, yes you could say that renewable sources for electrification are the 'low hanging fruit', much more than steel and cement. And I hope fusion will be added to the possibilities. Still, the challenges are so incredibly huge. The big change with last year is that more and more governments finally seem to take this seriously, it looks like 2021 will be a very important year to see what commitments governments are prepared to make, with this Thursday's summit and COP26 as two key moments.
I'm wordless about the CO2 spike graph increases after 2010 and 2021 indicating a pattern?
Yes, a rebound of the economy after a dip. Governments and businesses are eager to make up for the 'losses' of the previous year, but the economic gain means in pre-transformation economies an environmental loss.
Lovely photos but an alarming article. Yes, we now have a president who cares about the climate. This week even the major networks have been doing stories about climate change and what measures can be taken to decelerate some of the effects of our mechanized nations. How many are viable and will really affect carbon emission is debatable. At least with such coverage of the topic and under the prodding of constituents perhaps legislators will take action.
I agree, and your country seems to have chosen a different leader this time, one that does care and does make climate action a priority. Excited to see what will be announced tomorrow during the summit on Earth Day