Thermal coal in Asia: stopping the juggernaut
Emissions from Asian coal-fired power plants remain one of the more significant climate change challenges faced by the world community. Although China is beginning to reduce coal consumption it remains a key builder of thermal-coal plants with 250 Gigawatts still under construction. India is even more significant in its investment in coal with 650 Gigawatts of capacity under construction. At the same time both countries are investing in renewable energy projects but to meet their domestic energy demands cannot abandon coal. In a recent paper produced by Energy Transition Advisors (ETA), entitled Thermal Coal in Asia – Stopping the Juggernaut, the authors point out the China is perilously close to surpassing its carbon emission targets (2019 estimate) and India is expected to do so in time (2039 estimate). For both countries the only solution other than to shut these thermal-coal plants down is carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). The paper points to thermal coal in Asia as being the key to global emissions and hence the climate.