Advertisement
Climate change sets back global power sector’s decarbonisation efforts as countries turn to coal to meet demand
- Increased use of coal to generate power this summer may lead to higher carbon emissions in 2022, UK environment think tank Ember says
- Coal power generated in China rose by 111 terawatt-hours in July and August compared to last year, cancelling out the 79TWh drop seen in the first half
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
Prolonged heatwaves and droughts could result in increased carbon emissions from global power generation, highlighting the disruption extreme climate events can have on decarbonising the sector, according to an environment think tank.
China cranked up electricity generated from coal in the summer to make up for the shortfall in hydropower. And in Europe, nations like Austria, France, Britain and Germany have temporarily turned to coal-fired power to meet demand amid tight natural gas supply and high prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
“In July and August there was a rise in global coal and gas [power] generation, leaving open the possibility that power sector carbon dioxide emissions in 2022 may yet rise, following last year’s all-time high,” UK-based Ember said in a report on Wednesday.
Advertisement
“This happened because China’s hydro surplus turned into deficit due to record droughts, and heatwaves struck across the world, pushing up electricity demand.”
01:37
Elderly Chinese ‘chill out’ in air-conditioned supermarket to beat the heat
Elderly Chinese ‘chill out’ in air-conditioned supermarket to beat the heat
The worst heatwave and drought in 60 years this summer led to power rationing, and disrupted food and factory production and transport across China.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x