Despite COP21, King Coal will be hard to dethrone

• 8 years ago (2015-12-14)
• David Flin

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Despite all the optimistic words and deals from the COP21 talks in Paris, the negotiators of the agreement still face the challenge of meeting the deal. The test will come in limiting the use of coal as an energy source.

Coal remains cheap and abundant, currently supplying about 40 per cent of the world’s energy, according to the International Energy Agency. However, coal use is projected to rise, especially in Asia.

For example, the Philippines is set to open 23 coal-fired plants over the next five years to meet rising demand for electricity, making the country Asia’s most coal-dependent country by 2035 as a percentage of energy mix, according to the energy research company IHS Energy Insight. Officials from the Philippine Government have said that the country’s economy needs the new coal plants to offset declining domestic reserves of natural gas.

The Philippine Government said in its Paris pledge that it would cut its carbon emissions by 70 per cent by 2030, conditional on financial assistance and the transfer of green technology from more developed nations. However, the country plans to nearly triple its fleet of coal plants by 2020, while doubling the amount of CO2 to 70 million metric tons a year by 2025.

Francisco Viray, a former Energy Secretary for the Philippines, said: “For a developing country where a sixth of the population still isn’t connected to the main power grid, the priority has to be to ensure that there is enough supply, not curbing emissions.”

In addition, Vietnam has plans to double the number of coal-fired plants it has to 40 by 2022 to tide it over until a generation of nuclear generators comes on line. Thailand is boosting its use of coal as part of a security strategy designed to reduce the country’s dependence on natural gas. Indonesia is encouraging more coal-fired plants to support its mining industry.