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China Promotes Climate Goal, and Builds New Coal Plants

September 25, 2020

The post China Promotes Climate Goal, and Builds New Coal Plants appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said he wants his country to “achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.” It will not be an easy task for the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG).

China, though it has canceled some planned thermal power plants over the past several years, has as much as 200 GW of coal-fired facilities in its development pipeline, according to Mary Hutzler, a distinguished Senior Fellow at the Institute for Energy Research. Hutzler, who spent more than 25 years as an analyst and for a time acting administrator with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), has said coal will be critical to China’s economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic.

Xi, speaking to the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 22 as part of Climate Week NYC 2020 in New York City, called for a “green revolution,” saying the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need to preserve the Earth’s environment.…

Worried About Climate Change? Save Nuclear Plants [PODCAST]

July 27, 2019

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Nuclear power advocates suggest there are many benefits associated with nuclear energy. They point to high-paying jobs; billions of dollars in economic activity for plant-hosting communities; and secure, reliable, baseload electricity. But the most-important benefit of nuclear power may be that it emits no greenhouse gases, and therefore does not contribute to climate change.

According to Nuclear Matters, a national coalition that works to inform the public and policymakers about the benefits of nuclear energy, nuclear power is playing an essential role in the U.S.’s clean energy future. The group says nuclear power accounted for more than 55% of the country’s clean energy generation in 2018, and phasing out nuclear energy would create devastating environmental impacts for the world.

Carol Browner, former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator and former energy and climate change senior advisor to President Obama, was a guest on The POWER Podcast. Browner, who currently serves on the Nuclear Matters Advocacy Council, said, “Air pollution is a major burden to human health, and electricity generation is a major source of air pollution.…

U.S. and Canada Follow Different Climate Policy Paths—Does One Offer a Competitive Advantage?

August 25, 2016

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Although the U.S. and Canada are both aiming for similar greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, the two countries are embarking on decidedly different approaches to reaching their goals, according to a report released on August 23.

IHS Markit—a company that provides information, analytics, and solutions to customers in business, finance, and government—developed the report, titled “The State of Canadian and US Climate Policy.” One reason it cites for the different emissions reduction methods is that the makeup of the power sectors in the two countries is vastly different.

In the U.S., the largest GHG emitter is the electric power generation industry. Historically, coal has been the most prominent fuel source for U.S. electricity production, and it is a heavy GHG emitter. As natural gas supplies have increased and the cost of renewable energy has decreased, replacing coal with these lower- and zero-emitting resources has resulted in a natural decrease in GHG emissions.

Canada, however, gets about 80% of its electricity from resources that have always been low- or zero-carbon emitters, mainly hydropower.…