Energy

Coal bounces back


Coal may seem like the power source of yesteryear. After all, the United States has spent more than a decade retiring coal-fired power plants and boosting clean energy, as countries around the world pledge to combat climate change.

But global coal use is not declining — and may actually produce a record amount of planet-warming pollution by the end of the year.

Despite significant reductions in the United States, where coal plants have shuttered in droves since 2010, global emissions from burning coal remain relatively flat. That’s mostly because Europe and Asia have ramped up production as they struggle with the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, writes POLITICO E&E News reporter Benjamin Storrow.

Transitioning away from coal, the leading source of global carbon dioxide, is key for zeroing out heat-trapping pollution and staving off the worst effects of climate change. Recognizing this, nearly 200 countries agreed to phase down coal during last year’s global climate talks in Scotland.

But progress has been slow, if nonexistent. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has only made it more difficult. Europe, seeking to replace Russian natural gas, has powered up long-shuttered coal plants. Coal generation was up 8 percent through September on the continent, compared with last year. As winter begins, European countries are looking to shore up supplies, which could boost coal output further.

Global coal generation would probably be even higher if not for an economic lull in China, the world’s largest coal market. Overall, global coal capacity has doubled in the last 20 years, and the majority of new plants are being built in Asia.

And that has created a new market for U.S. coal miners. Pennsylvania-based Consol Energy told investors it was bullish on exports to India, where the company’s coal is being burned in the industrial sector. India — the world’s second-largest coal burner — has also doubled down on the fuel in response to soaring natural gas prices.

“Global coal use and emissions have essentially plateaued at a high level, with no definitive signs of an imminent reduction,” the International Energy Agency concluded in a report released this month.

The upshot: Coal’s surprising tenacity only underscores the difficulty in curbing the world’s most carbon-intensive fuel.

It’s Monday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO’s Power Switch. I’m your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to [email protected].

PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ll be off for Thanksgiving this Thursday and Friday but back to our normal schedule on Monday, Nov. 28.

Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Karl Mathiesen breaks down his main takeaways from COP 27 and the details a historic deal to create a global loss and damage fund.

The world’s most climate-threatened countries won a historic first at the climate talks in Egypt — securing a fund that would pay them for the damage wrought by global warming, write Sara Schonhardt and Karl Mathiesen.

But the victory came at a price.

Reaching consensus on the new form of climate reparations meant bargaining with a small group of petrostates and emerging economies, which sought to block the conference from doing much to mitigate global warming.

Social cost of carbon hike
EPA has proposed a new estimate for the social cost of carbon emissions, nearly quadrupling a figure that has already drawn legal challenges from a host of Republican-led states, write Niina H. Farah and Lesley Clark.

The metric puts a price tag on the damage created by each metric ton of greenhouse gas emissions. Agencies can then use it as part of their analyses of the costs and benefits of more stringent climate regulations.

Everglades, not climate
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis denounces “woke” green investments, says he’s “not a global warming person” and has abysmal ratings from national environmentalists, writes Robin Bravender.

So it might come as a surprise to those outside of Florida that the GOP governor — who’s widely expected to run for president in 2024 — has been working to brand himself as an environmental hero.

Energy summit
France and Germany are trying to orchestrate a meeting early next year as they aim to make progress on difficult issues like energy and defense, writes Hans von der Burchard.

The summit could signal that relations between Paris and Berlin are beginning to thaw. A joint Franco-German Cabinet meeting in late October was unexpectedly postponed as the two countries grappled with big differences on energy issues.

Oil grip: Inside the Saudi strategy to keep the world hooked on oil.

About-face: OPEC is eyeing output increases ahead of restrictions on Russian oil.

A showcase of some of our best subscriber content.

The Energy Department will award $1.1 billion to a California nuclear plant in an effort to keep the embattled facility open past its scheduled 2025 closure date.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler faces a growing political problem: He has a shrinking number of allies in Washington.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission concluded that a natural gas pipeline expansion would have limited environmental effects, dealing a blow to green groups.

That’s it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.





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