| Syllabus: GS-III, Subject: Environment, Ecology and Disaster Management, Topic: Global Agreements and Efforts, Issue: GHG emission |
Context: A report of the US-based think-tank, Global Energy Monitoring on phasing out coal based power
Green House Gas emissions by Coal based power plant:
- Contribute a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions.
- Meeting Paris Climate Pact’s goal requires retiring 126GW of coal power plants annually until 2040.
Status of phasing out coal based power plant:
- China and India’s growing coal power capacity hinders efforts to phase out coal.
- China accounted for two-thirds of newly operating coal plants globally last year.
- US coal decommissioning slowed in 2023, with a 2% growth in coal-fired power capacity.
- China committed to retiring 30 GW by 2025 but only decommissioned 4 GW last year.
- The US plans to retire 5 GW this year, the lowest since 2008.
The way ahead:
- Green transition strategies must be tailored to the unique challenges of emerging and developing economies.
- The International Energy Agency: IEA suggests implementing carbon capture technology in power plants.
