Tag: Fossil fuel power generation

A showdown is brewing over money, oil and carbon. Here’s what’s at stake at the COP28 climate summit

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In this aerial view water vapour and exhaust rise from the steel mill of Salzgitter AG, one Europe’s largest steel producers, on November 22, 2023 in Salzgitter, Germany.

Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Policymakers and business leaders from across the globe are set to arrive in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for the world’s biggest and most important annual climate conference.

The COP28 summit, which starts on Thursday and is scheduled to run through to Dec. 12, will provide a critical forum for government officials, business leaders and campaign groups to accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis.

The pressure to deliver is immense. Global temperatures and greenhouse gas emissions continue to break records, with no continent left untouched by more frequent and intense extreme weather events.

Here’s a look at what’s at stake at COP28.

Money

Climate finance is always a hotly debated talking point at the U.N. summit and COP28 promises to be no different. It refers to the financing needed to support efforts to both significantly reduce emissions and adjust to the effects of climate change.

Talks in Bonn, Germany earlier in the year became gridlocked over this issue of finance and support, with some low-income countries refusing to talk about slashing emissions unless there was an equal focus on how wealthy nations would provide cash to them.

It laid the groundwork for what one environmental group expects to be a “huge fight” between high-income and low-income nations at COP28.

Climate activists hold a banner outside the InterContinental London Park Lane during the “Oily Money Out” demonstration organised by Fossil Free London on the sidelines of the opening day of the Energy Intelligence Forum 2023 in London on October 17, 2023. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

Henry Nicholls | Afp | Getty Images

Data published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in mid-November, however, showed that rich countries had finally fulfilled their promise to provide $100 billion a year to low-income countries — albeit two years after the deadline. It is hoped that this could go some way to fostering goodwill at the summit.

“COP28 has a massive role to play in setting the political direction for a transformational shift in climate ambition. But without finance and economic confidence, countries won’t be able to act at the pace and scale needed,” said Alex Scott, program lead at E3G, an independent climate think tank.

Loss and damage

Another major financial issue will be to operationalize the so-called “loss and damage” fund, arguably the main legacy of last year’s COP27 summit in Egypt.

Rich countries, despite accounting for the bulk of historical greenhouse gas emissions, have long opposed the creation of a fund to compensate low-income countries for the loss and damage they’ve caused.

Advocates argue, however, that it is required to account for climate impacts — including hurricanes, floods and wildfires or slow-onset impacts such as rising sea levels — that countries cannot defend against because the risks are unavoidable, or the countries cannot afford it.

The establishment of the loss and damage fund at COP27 was seen as a historic breakthrough and potential turning point in the climate crisis, although many key details were left unresolved — such as who should pay into the fund, how large should it be and who should administer the money.

Countries reached a consensus on how to approach loss and damage payments during tense discissions that ran into overtime earlier this month. Yet it remains to be seen whether this fragile agreement can hold for countries to successfully operationalize the fund in the UAE.

“Billions of people, lives and livelihoods who are vulnerable to the effects of climate change depend upon the adoption of this recommended approach at COP28,” Sultan al-Jaber, president-designate of COP28, said in a statement on Nov. 5.

People carry their belongings while crossing the section of a road collapsing due to flash floods at the Mwingi-Garissa Road near Garissa on November 22, 2023. The Horn of Africa is experiencing torrential rainfall and floods linked to El Nino climate pattern. Several communities are isolated as thousands of homes have been destroyed or damaged by floods that struck at least 33 of Kenya’s 47 counties, killing more than 70 people and displacing many across the East African nation. (Photo by LUIS TATO / AFP) (Photo by LUIS TATO/AFP via Getty Images)

Luis Tato | Afp | Getty Images

Al-Jaber was seen as a controversial choice to lead COP28 discussions in Dubai given that he also works as the head of the state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

Climate activists criticized his appointment saying his position as an oil executive reflects a clear conflict of interest — akin to “putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.” His office has said he will play a pivotal role in the intergovernmental discussions to build consensus at the event.

Fossil fuels

Melanie Robinson, global climate program director at the World Resources Institute, said COP28 will be the biggest accountability moment for climate action in history — and fossil fuels will be at the heart of the talks.

She anticipated three main debates around the use of oil, gas and coal — the burning of which is the chief driver of the climate crisis.

“So, one is this ‘phase out’ or ‘phase down’ [of fossil fuels]. Actually, for us at WRI, since neither of those has got a timeline, the most important thing for us is that whatever language they agree to, it needs to send a really strong signal that the world is rapidly shifting away from fossil fuels and it will do so equitably,” Robinson told CNBC via telephone.

“The second, but perhaps slightly linked, issue is whether it is ‘abated’ or ‘unabated.’ There’s a whole debate about the role of carbon capture technology abating emissions and there are certainly some oil companies and producer countries who would try to have us believe that with CCS [carbon capture and storage] we can continue to burn fossil fuels and still achieve our climate goals,” she continued.

“We think the science suggests that is simply not true. There is no credible scenario where CCS will allow continued use of fossil fuels, let alone expanding oil and gas. So, for us, it is important that COP28 acknowledges the limited role CCS will play.”

Sultan Al Jaber, chief executive of the UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and president of this year’s COP28 climate summit gestures during an interview as part of the 7th Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA) in Brussels on July 13, 2023.

Francois Walschaerts | Afp | Getty Images

Abated fossil fuels refer to the process in which emissions are captured and stored with carbon capture and storage technologies. The definition of unabated fossil fuels lacks clarity, despite the term cropping up in several climate commitments, but it is said to refer to fossil fuels produced and used without interventions to substantially reduce the amount of emitted greenhouse gases.

Robinson said the third talking point on fossil fuels was that there is a risk Dubai “could become a platform celebrating pledges from the oil and gas industry that fail to curb the emissions of their products.”

She warned that any net zero pledge from the oil and gas industry that doesn’t involve so-called Scope 3 emissions would not be significant. Scope 3 emissions refer to the emissions produced from across a company’s entire value chain, and often account for the lion’s share of a firm’s carbon footprint.

“For us, it’s a bit like a cigarette company saying that whatever happens to cigarettes after they leave the factory gate has got nothing to do with them. So, that I think we have to watch,” Robinson said.

A course correction?

One unique component of the Dubai climate talks is the conclusion of the first global stocktake since the landmark Paris Agreement — the 2015 accord that aims to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

The world has already warmed by around 1.1 degrees Celsius, scientists say, after over a century of burning fossil fuels as well as unequal and unsustainable energy and land use. Indeed, it is this temperature increase that is fueling a series of extreme weather events around the world.

The stocktake is the main tool through which progress under the Paris Agreement is assessed. According to the U.N. global stocktake synthesis report released in early September, only transformational change will be enough to get the world back on track to meeting its climate goals.

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November 28, 2023
Global demand for oil, coal and gas set to peak by 2030, energy agency IEA says

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Wind turbines and a lignite-fired power plant photographed in in Germany.

Jan Woitas | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Demand for oil, coal and natural gas is set to peak before the end of this decade, with fossil fuels’ share in the world’s energy supply dropping to 73% by the year 2030 after being “stuck for decades at around 80%,” the International Energy Agency said Tuesday.

A transformative shift in how the planet is powered is also underway, with the “phenomenal rise of clean energy technologies” like wind, solar, heat pumps and electric cars playing a crucial role, according to a statement accompanying the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2023 report.

Energy related carbon dioxide emissions are also on course to peak by the year 2025.

Despite these seismic shifts, the IEA says more effort is required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a key goal of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The IEA’s analysis of governments’ “current policy settings” shows the world’s energy system is on course to look very different in the next few years.

In its statement, the Paris-based organization said it sees “almost 10 times as many electric cars on the road worldwide” in 2030, with “renewables’ share of the global electricity mix nearing 50%,” higher than the roughly 30% today.

Among other things, heat pumps — as well as other electric heating systems — are on course to outsell boilers that use fossil fuels.

“If countries deliver on their national energy and climate pledges on time and in full, clean energy progress would move even faster,” the IEA’s statement said.

“However, even stronger measures would still be needed to keep alive the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C,” it added.

“As things stand, demand for fossil fuels is set to remain far too high to keep within reach the Paris Agreement goal of limiting the rise in average global temperatures to 1.5 °C,” the statement went on to say.

In a sign of how high the stakes are, the IEA’s report said its Stated Policies Scenario was now “associated with a temperature rise of 2.4 °C in 2100 (with a 50% probability).”

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Tuesday’s report reaffirms the content of an op-ed published in September 2023 that was authored by the IEA’s executive director, Fatih Birol, and published in the Financial Times.

In remarks published Tuesday, Birol sought to emphasize the huge potential for change while also highlighting the massive amount of work that still needs to be done.

“The transition to clean energy is happening worldwide and it’s unstoppable,” he said. “It’s not a question of ‘if’, it’s just a matter of ‘how soon’ — and the sooner the better for all of us,” he added.

“Governments, companies and investors need to get behind clean energy transitions rather than hindering them,” Birol said.

“There are immense benefits on offer, including new industrial opportunities and jobs, greater energy security, cleaner air, universal energy access and a safer climate for everyone.”

“Taking into account the ongoing strains and volatility in traditional energy markets today, claims that oil and gas represent safe or secure choices for the world’s energy and climate future look weaker than ever,” Birol said.

COP28 nears

The IEA’s report comes just weeks ahead of the U.N.’s COP28 climate change summit in the United Arab Emirates.

The shadow of the Paris Agreement, reached at COP21 in late 2015, looms large over the IEA’s report.

The landmark accord aims to “limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.”

The challenge is huge, and the United Nations has previously noted that 1.5 degrees Celsius is viewed as being “the upper limit” when it comes to avoiding the worst consequences of climate change.

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October 24, 2023
The world’s largest floating wind farm is now officially open — and helping to power North Sea oil operations

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The Hywind Tampen project is located in waters off the Norwegian coast.

Ole Berg-rusten | AFP | Getty Images

A facility described as “the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm” was officially opened by Crown Prince Haakon of Norway on Wednesday, marking the culmination of a major renewable energy project years in the making.

Located around 140 kilometers (86.9 miles) off the coast of Norway in depths ranging from 260 to 300 meters, Hywind Tampen uses 11 turbines. The wind farm produced its first power in Nov. 2022 and became fully operational this month.

While wind is a renewable energy source, Hywind Tampen helps power operations at oil and gas fields, the idea being that it will cut these sites’ carbon dioxide emissions in the process.

“Hywind Tampen has a system capacity of 88 MW and is expected to cover about 35 per cent of the annual need for electricity on the five platforms Snorre A and B and Gullfaks A, B and C,” Norwegian energy firm Equinor said.

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Floating offshore wind turbines are different from fixed-bottom offshore wind turbines, which are rooted to the seabed. One advantage of floating turbines is that they can be installed in far deeper waters than fixed-bottom ones.

In recent years a range of companies and major economies like the U.S. have laid out goals to ramp up floating wind installations.

Equinor, a major player in the fossil fuel industry, describes the turbines at Hywind Tampen as being “mounted on floating concrete structures with a common anchoring system.”

Alongside Equinor, partners in the Hywind Tampen project include Vår Energi, INPEX Idemitsu, Petoro, Wintershall Dea and OMV.

The project off Norway’s coast marks Equinor’s latest move in the floating wind sector. Back in 2017, it started operations at Hywind Scotland, a five-turbine, 30 MW facility it calls the planet’s first floating wind farm.

“With Hywind Tampen, we have shown that we can plan, build and commission a large, floating offshore wind farm in the North Sea,” Equinor’s Siri Kindem, who heads up the firm’s renewables business in Norway, said in a statement.

“We will use the experience and learning from this project to become even better,” she added. “We will build bigger, reduce costs and build a new industry on the shoulders of the oil and gas industry.”

Powering the oil and gas industry

The use of a floating wind farm to help power the fossil fuel industry is likely to spark significant debate at a time when discussions about climate change and the environment are at the front and center of many people’s minds.

This is because fossil fuels’ effect on the environment is considerable. The United Nations says that, since the 19th century, “human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.”

“Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures,” it adds.

The stakes are high. Speaking at the COP27 climate change summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, last year, the U.N. Secretary General issued a stark warning to attendees.

“We are in the fight of our lives, and we are losing,” Antonio Guterres said.

“Greenhouse gas emissions keep growing, global temperatures keep rising, and our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible.”

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August 23, 2023
Renewables to overtake coal and become world’s biggest source of electricity generation by 2025, IEA says

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Wind turbines in the Netherlands. A report from the International Energy Agency “expects renewables to become the primary energy source for electricity generation globally in the next three years, overtaking coal.”

Mischa Keijser | Image Source | Getty Images

Renewables are on course to overtake coal and become the planet’s biggest source of electricity generation by the middle of this decade, according to the International Energy Agency.

The IEA’s Renewables 2022 report, published Tuesday, predicts a major shift within the world’s electricity mix at a time of significant volatility and geopolitical tension.

“The first truly global energy crisis, triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has sparked unprecedented momentum for renewables,” it said.

“Renewables [will] become the largest source of global electricity generation by early 2025, surpassing coal,” it added.

According to its “main-case forecast,” the IEA expects renewables to account for nearly 40% of worldwide electricity output in 2027, coinciding with a fall in the share of coal, natural gas and nuclear generation.

The analysis comes at a time of huge disruption within global energy markets following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

The Kremlin was the biggest supplier of both natural gas and petroleum oils to the EU in 2021, according to Eurostat. However, gas exports from Russia to the European Union have slid this year, as member states sought to drain the Kremlin’s war chest.

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As such, major European economies have been attempting to shore up supplies from alternative sources for the colder months ahead — and beyond.

In a statement issued alongside its report, the IEA highlighted the consequences of the current geopolitical situation.

“The global energy crisis is driving a sharp acceleration in installations of renewable power, with total capacity growth worldwide set to almost double in the next five years,” it said.

“Energy security concerns caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have motivated countries to increasingly turn to renewables such as solar and wind to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels, whose prices have spiked dramatically,” it added.

In its largest-ever upward revision to its renewable power forecast, the IEA now expects the world’s renewable capacity to surge by nearly 2,400 gigawatts between 2022 and 2027 — the same amount as the “entire installed power capacity of China today.”

Wind and solar surge ahead

The IEA expects electricity stemming from wind and solar photovoltaic (which converts sunlight directly into electricity) to supply nearly 20% of the planet’s power generation in 2027.

“These variable technologies account for 80% of global renewable generation increase over the forecast period, which will require additional sources of power system flexibility,” it added.

However, the IEA expects growth in geothermal, bioenergy, hydropower and concentrated solar power to stay “limited despite their critical role in integrating wind and solar PV into global electricity systems.”

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Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director, said the global energy crisis had kicked renewables “into an extraordinary new phase of even faster growth as countries seek to capitalise on their energy security benefits.”

“The world is set to add as much renewable power in the next 5 years as it did in the previous 20 years,” Birol said.

The IEA chief added that the continued acceleration of renewables was “critical” to keeping “the door open to limiting global warming to 1.5 °C.”

The 1.5 degree target is a reference to 2015′s Paris Agreement, a landmark accord that aims to “limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.”

Cutting human-made carbon dioxide emissions to net-zero by 2050 is seen as crucial when it comes to meeting the 1.5 degrees Celsius target.

Earlier this year, a report from the International Energy Agency said clean energy investment could be on course to exceed $2 trillion per year by 2030, an increase of over 50% compared to today.

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December 6, 2022
Coal-fired plant imploded in New Jersey for battery array

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LOGAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A former coal-fired power plant in New Jersey was imploded Friday, and its owners announced plans for a new $1 billion venture on the site, where batteries will be deployed to store power from clean energy sources including wind and solar.

The move came as New Jersey moves aggressively to adopt clean energy, including its push to be the East Coast leader in offshore wind energy.

Starwood Energy demolished the former Logan Generating Plant, with the head of New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities pushing a ceremonial button; the actual explosives used in bringing the structure down were triggered by a licensed demolition contractor.

Logan is one of two former coal-fired power plants that the company decided in March to shutter and tear down under an agreement with the state and a local utility. The other is the former Chambers Cogeneration Plant in Carneys Point, which has yet to be dismantled.

They were the last two coal-fired power plants operating in the state until they closed three months ago, and both will host battery storage projects, said Himanshu Saxena, CEO of Starwood, a Greenwich, Connecticut, private equity investment firm specializing in energy infrastructure projects.

“This is the end of coal in this state,” Saxena said.

The closures are part of the latest wave of coal-burning units to be retired as states try to fight climate change by requiring more carbon-free sources of electricity.

“Wind doesn’t always blow; solar doesn’t always shine,” he said. “We need systems where you can store the energy. You have to build battery storage products.”

The plant, on the banks of the Delaware River in the Philadelphia suburbs of southern New Jersey, began operating in 1994.

Shortly before 11 a.m. Friday, an emergency siren sounded, indicating the imminent detonation of explosives placed strategically at the base of the plant’s smokestack and in a larger nearby building.

A series of loud blasts rang out, and concussive waves of pressure radiated from the site as the structures began to crumble into a heap of smoke and dust.

Saxena said he has a long history with power generation and environmental concerns.

“I worked at a coal plant in India; there were no scrubbers,” he said, referring to emissions-control equipment. “You went in with a white shirt and came out with a black shirt.”

Environmental and public interest groups including the Sierra Club pushed Atlantic City Electric to end an agreement that locked rate-payers into what the Sierra Club termed above-market electricity rates, and to end the operation of the two plants.

“More utilities need to recognize the changing landscape and that they have a responsibility to reduce carbon pollution,” said Ramon Cruz, national president of the Sierra Club, adding he hopes the deal will be a model for other states and companies.

Atlantic City Electric estimates that termination of the agreement will save ratepayers $30 million through 2024.

———

Follow Wayne Parry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC

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December 2, 2022
Coal-fired plant imploded in New Jersey for battery array

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LOGAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A former coal-fired power plant in New Jersey was imploded Friday, and its owners announced plans for a new $1 billion venture on the site, where batteries will be deployed to store power from clean energy sources including wind and solar.

The move came as New Jersey moves aggressively to adopt clean energy, including its push to be the East Coast leader in offshore wind energy.

Starwood Energy demolished the former Logan Generating Plant, with the head of New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities pushing a ceremonial button; the actual explosives used in bringing the structure down were triggered by a licensed demolition contractor.

Logan is one of two former coal-fired power plants that the company decided in March to shutter and tear down under an agreement with the state and a local utility. The other is the former Chambers Cogeneration Plant in Carneys Point, which has yet to be dismantled.

They were the last two coal-fired power plants operating in the state until they closed three months ago, and both will host battery storage projects, said Himanshu Saxena, CEO of Starwood, a Greenwich, Connecticut, private equity investment firm specializing in energy infrastructure projects.

“This is the end of coal in this state,” Saxena said.

The closures are part of the latest wave of coal-burning units to be retired as states try to fight climate change by requiring more carbon-free sources of electricity.

“Wind doesn’t always blow; solar doesn’t always shine,” he said. “We need systems where you can store the energy. You have to build battery storage products.”

The plant, on the banks of the Delaware River in the Philadelphia suburbs of southern New Jersey, began operating in 1994.

Shortly before 11 a.m. Friday, an emergency siren sounded, indicating the imminent detonation of explosives placed strategically at the base of the plant’s smokestack and in a larger nearby building.

A series of loud blasts rang out, and concussive waves of pressure radiated from the site as the structures began to crumble into a heap of smoke and dust.

Saxena said he has a long history with power generation and environmental concerns.

“I worked at a coal plant in India; there were no scrubbers,” he said, referring to emissions-control equipment. “You went in with a white shirt and came out with a black shirt.”

Environmental and public interest groups including the Sierra Club pushed Atlantic City Electric to end an agreement that locked rate-payers into what the Sierra Club termed above-market electricity rates, and to end the operation of the two plants.

“More utilities need to recognize the changing landscape and that they have a responsibility to reduce carbon pollution,” said Ramon Cruz, national president of the Sierra Club, adding he hopes the deal will be a model for other states and companies.

Atlantic City Electric estimates that termination of the agreement will save ratepayers $30 million through 2024.

———

Follow Wayne Parry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC

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December 2, 2022
Coal-fired power plant in NJ to be imploded for clean power

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SWEDESBORO, N.J. — A former coal-fired power plant in New Jersey will be imploded Friday, and its owners are expected to announce plans for a new clean energy venture on the site.

Starwood Energy will demolish the former Logan Generating Plant, with the head of New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities pushing the button that triggers explosives used in bringing the structure down.

Logan is one of two former coal-fired power plants that the company agreed in March to shut down. They were the last two coal-fired power plants operating in the state.

Environmental and public interest groups including the Sierra Club pushed Atlantic City Electric to end an agreement that locked rate-payers into what the Sierra Club termed above-market electricity rates, and to end the operation of the plants.

“The implosion will end a decades-long history of polluting air and worsening public health in the Swedesboro and surrounding Gloucester County communities,” the Sierra Club said in a statement.

The utility estimates that termination of the agreement will save ratepayers $30 million through 2024.

The other power plant shuttered under the agreement is the former Chambers Cogeneration Plant in Carneys Point.

The move comes as New Jersey is moving aggressively to adopt clean energy, including its push to be the East Coast leader in offshore wind energy.

———

Follow Wayne Parry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC

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December 1, 2022
Qatar to supply liquefied natural gas to Germany from 2026

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DOHA, Qatar — Qatar is to supply liquefied natural gas to Germany under a 15-year deal signed Tuesday as the European economic powerhouse scrambles to replace Russian gas supplies that have been cut during the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Officials gave no dollar value for the deal, which would begin in 2026. Under the agreement, Qatar would send up to 2 million tons of the gas to Germany through an under-construction terminal at Brunsbuettel.

The deal involves both Qatar Energy, the nation’s state-run firm, and ConocoPhillips, which has stakes in Qatar’s offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf that it shares with Iran.

As European countries have supported Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in February, Moscow has slashed supplies of natural gas used to heat homes, generate electricity and power industry. That has created an energy crisis that is fueling inflation and increasing pressure on companies as prices have risen.

Germany, which got more than half its gas from Russia before the war, hasn’t received any gas from Russia since the end of August.

The country is building five liquefied natural gas terminals as a key part of its plan to replace Russian supplies, and the first are expected to go into service shortly. Much of Germany’s current gas supply comes from or via Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Germany’s drive to prevent a short-term energy crunch also includes temporarily reactivating old oil- and coal-fired power stations and extending the life of the country’s last three nuclear power plants, which were supposed to be switched off at the end of this year, until mid-April.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who is also responsible for energy, visited Qatar in March — about a month after Russia invaded Ukraine — as part of the government’s effort to diversify gas supplies. Chancellor Olaf Scholz was there in September.

Habeck said Tuesday he wouldn’t say much about the deal because “the political talks were always only framework talks; the companies remained in contact after that.”

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November 29, 2022
High energy prices lead to coal revival in Czech Republic

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OSTRAVA, Czech Republic — In this part of northeastern Czech Republic, huge piles of coal are stacked up ready to sell to eager buyers and smoke belches from coal-fired plants that are ramping up instead of winding down.

Ostrava has been working for decades to end its legacy as the most polluted area of the country, transitioning from an industrial working-class stronghold to a modern city with tourist sights. But Russia’s war in Ukraine has triggered an energy crisis in Europe that as paved the way for coal’s comeback, endangering climate goals and threatening health from increased pollution.

Households and businesses are turning to the fuel once considered obsolete as they seek a cheaper option than natural gas, whose prices have surged as Russia slashed supplies to Europe.

Demand for brown coal — the cheapest and most energy inefficient form — used by Czech households jumped by almost 35% in the first nine months of 2022 over a year earlier.

In the same period, production rose more than 20%, the first increase after an almost continuous, decadeslong decline, the Czech Industry and Trade Ministry said.

“We’re worried,” said Zdenka Němečková Crkvenjaš, who is responsible for environment as a member the governing council of the Moravian-Silesian region. “If the prices won’t go down, what might happen is that we’ll be facing an increased pollution.”

The region is part of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, a large industrialized area straddling the Czech-Polish border with rich deposits of coal and factories producing steel, power and the type of coal used for steel-making that date to the 19th century.

A combination of burning coal for residential heating and industrial plants resulted in “catastrophic” air pollution at the end of the communist era in 1989, said Petr Jančík from Technical University Ostrava, an air pollution expert who cooperated on the Air Tritia project that recently produced an online model of the polluted air on the Czech-Polish-Slovak border.

Coal-fired power is not only disastrous for climate, it’s also a health hazard, releasing heavy particle emissions, nitrogen oxides and mercury, which contaminates fish in lakes and rivers.

A decline of industrial and mining activities and advent of new environmental standards after the Czech Republic joined the European Union in 2004 vastly improved air quality.

But big challenges remain.

Airborne dust emissions — PM10 particles — now meet environmental limits in the region, but concentrations of smaller PM2.5 particles that can reach deep into the lungs and bloodstream still do not hit World Health Organization standards.

A 2021 study of more than 800 European cities by Spain’s Barcelona Institute for Global Health, or ISGlobal, puts the regional capital of Ostrava and the nearby towns of Karviná and Havířov among the top 10 most polluted European cities. It estimated that 529 deaths a year could be avoided in those three cities if air quality guidelines are met.

Burning coal also spews the dangerous substance benzo(a)pyrene, whose levels are still high despite government programs that pay to replace old furnaces with more effective ones that reduce pollution.

Some 50,000 furnaces still need to be replaced in the Ostrava region, said Němečková Crkvenjaš, estimating that figure at 500,000 in a more populated and polluted area across the border in Poland.

“I’m afraid this winter won’t be ideal as far the air pollution is concerned,” she said. “I’ll be delighted if I’m wrong.”

Roman Vank, a board member for coal seller Ridera in Ostrava, said coal sales went up some 30% compared with last year. The cheapest form — brown coal — was most in demand.

Jančík, the scientist, said the impact to air quality is hard to predict right away, especially if it’s another mild winter, and that pollution “might get only slightly worse.”

He said a positive development is that high natural gas and electricity prices force people to acquire solar panels, more effective heating systems and try to become less dependent on sources of energy.

“There are two opposing trends: The first one is that people have been trying to use better and more efficient furnaces, and the second one is they consider using more coal and wood,” Jančík said. “That’s perhaps a result of a shock or worries, and they want to get supplies ready.”

Czech Greenpeace spokesman Lukáš Hrábek expected a negative impact in the near future.

“We see conflicting trends right now. We see higher coal consumption, but at the same time, we see a massive investment in renewable energies, in heat pumps, in insulation,” Hrábek said. “So it’s hard to say what the long-term effect will be, but the short-term effect is quite obvious, the air pollution will be worse because of the higher coal consumption.”

In another sign of coal’s revival, the Czech Republic has reversed plans to completely halt mining near Ostrava to help safeguard power supplies amid the energy crunch.

The state-owned OKD company will extend its mining activities in in the Ostrava region until at least the end of next year, citing “enormous” demand. It will be mostly used for generating power and household heating, with coal-fired power plants producing almost 50% of the country’s electricity.

The decision came after the European Union agreed to ban Russian coal starting in August over the war in Ukraine and as it works to reduce the bloc’s energy ties to Russia.

The Czech government aims to phase out coal in energy production by 2033 and increase its reliance on nuclear power.

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November 17, 2022
The Latest | UN Climate Summit

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SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — The Latest on COP27, the United Nations climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

About a dozen demonstrators protested Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the start of an event hosted by the Russian delegation at the U.N. climate conference.

The mostly young protesters in the audience Tuesday rose individually to shout their objections to the war in Ukraine, with some accusing the panelists of being “war criminals.”

They were swiftly escorted out of the room by U.N. security at the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

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KEY DEVELOPMENTS:

— US, China climate envoys to ‘meet later’ at UN summit

— Climate activist blasts leaders holding onto fossil projects

— Earth at 8 billion: Consumption not crowd is key to climate

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Several European delegates walked out of the room as Russia’s representative took the floor at this year’s U.N. climate conference.

Four officials, one of them wearing an outfit in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag, left the plenary hall Tuesday as Russian climate envoy Ruslan Edelgeriev took the podium. There was nobody at the U.S. delegation table during the incident.

Russia has been largely shunned by other European countries in international forums after its invasion of Ukraine.

Edelgeriev said Russia was committed to tackling climate change and criticized countries he said were taking unilateral measures in breach of existing agreements, without elaborating. Russia strongly objects to European Union plans to impose a carbon tax on imports that would hurt its exports.

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The climate change minister of Nauru has lambasted wealthy advanced countries for doing little to help his Pacific nation deal with climate change, underscoring the anger and cynicism among poor countries at the COP27 meeting in Egypt.

“We have placed our full trust in Western experts who have pushed false solutions and urge us to compromise for the good of the process. We have allowed ourselves to become props in environmental campaigns,” Rennier Gadabu said, in one of the more powerful speeches to delegates Tuesday.

“The decision makers, those with real powers, simply do not care,” Gadabu said. “They do not care about the communities that will be displaced and destroyed. They do not care about the food and water shortages that ravage poor countries. All they care about is power, pure and simple.”

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A Somali official called for G-20 leaders gathering in Bali in Indonesia and those negotiating in the U.N. climate conference in Egypt to prioritize climate financing for vulnerable countries.

Mohamed Osman Mahmoud, an economic advisor to the Somali president, said Tuesday that world leaders should address the issue of loss and damage payments for countries vulnerable to climate change “as soon as possible.”

He called for financing mechanisms to help heavily indebted poorer countries, like Somalia.

“Loss and damage isn’t a taboo to be talked about. It has to be addressed,” he said on the sidelines of the U.N. climate conference.

Mahmoud said Somalia, which is suffering from a prolonged drought, needs $55.5 billion in investment and assistance in the next 10 years to be able to recover from climate-related devastation.

“Somalia is paying the price already,” he said. “We have received so far nothing and in total Africa has received less.”

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India’s environment minister highlighted the country’s efforts in areas like renewable energy and green hydrogen and its leading role in a global solar power group in an address to ministers at the U.N. climate summit on Tuesday.

“This is the testimony of our ethos of collective action for global good,” said Bhupender Yadav. “India, home to 1.3 billion people, is undertaking our various efforts despite the reality that our contribution to the world’s cumulative emissions so far is less than 4% and our annual per capita emission are about one third of the global average.”

India’s emissions are historically low but it is now one of the world’s largest polluters, althoughits per capita emissions remain low.

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The ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the U.N. told ministers Tuesday that the island nation won’t leave the summit without a fund for climate-related loss and damage caused in large part by industrialized nations to developing ones.

“As we see the inaction of many developed countries the potential to stall talks and land a devastating blow for us as small island developing states is looming,” Conrod Hunte said in an address. “Antigua and Barbuda will not leave here without a loss and damage fund.”

Hunte slammed developed nations for continuing to use and even ramp up fossil fuels.

“The system is being gamed at our expense as small island developing states and the expense of future generations,” he said.

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The European Union announced Tuesday that it is raising its target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, albeit only slightly.

The 27-nation bloc’s top climate official told delegates at a U.N. climate meeting in Egypt that the EU will increase its target for reducing emissions by 2030 to 57%, from 55% previously, compared with 1990 levels.

Frans Timmermans said that the increase showed the EU was not backtracking on its commitments due to the energy crisis resulting from the war in Europe.

“Europe is staying the course,” he said. “Actually, we’re even accelerating.”

Environmental groups called the EU’s increased target “breadcrumbs,” saying the EU’s fair share should be cuts of at least 65% by 2030.

“This small increase announced today at COP27 doesn’t do justice to the calls from the most vulnerable countries at the frontlines. If the EU, with a heavy history of emitting greenhouse gases, doesn’t lead on mitigating climate change, who will?” said Chiara Martinelli of Climate Action Network Europe.

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The prime minister of Samoa appealed Tuesday to countries gathered at the U.N. climate talks in Egypt to respond as strongly to the threat of global warming as they did to the coronavirus pandemic.

Fiame Naomi Mata’afa said Samoa and other Pacific states are “at the mercy of climate change and our survival hangs in the rush of the climate hourglass.” She praised those major emitters who have made commitments to sharply cut their greenhouse gas emissions, but said those are still too few.

“Why is it not possible to apply the same level of urgency of action witnessed for the COVID-19 pandemic to the meeting of the 1.5-degree Celsius promise?” she asked, referring to the warming temperature limit set in the Paris agreement to limit the effects of climate change.

She also called for more financial support to vulnerable countries, including the creation of a dedicated fund for ‘loss and damage’ suffered as a result of climate change, noting that failure to keep past funding promises had caused distrust among nations.

“We cannot afford the further erosion of trust between the developed and developing countries,” she said.

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Germany announced that it is providing more than half a billion euros (dollars) to two funds that will foster the expansion of hydrogen projects.

Hydrogen gas, if produced through renewable energy, is seen as a low-carbon alternative substitute for natural gas in high-energy industries such as steel-making.

Germany, which has scrambled to replace imports of Russian natural gas following the invasion of Ukraine, says it wants to shift to hydrogen use in the medium term.

Germany’s Development Minister said Tuesday that “many developing countries have ideal conditions for green hydrogen production” and that they risked being excluded from future lucrative markets without support in setting up infrastructure.

The 550 million euros provided by Germany will be administered in the form of grants by its development bank KfW.

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The world must move quickly to slash carbon dioxide emissions from coal in order to avoid severe impacts from climate change, a report by the International Energy Agency said Tuesday.

The report found that the overwhelming majority of current global coal consumption occurs in countries that have pledged to achieve net zero emissions sometime this century. However, far from declining, global coal demand has been stable at near record highs for the past decade.

If nothing is done emissions from existing coal assets would by themselves tip the world across the 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) warming limit set in the Paris climate agreement.

“A major unresolved problem is how to deal with the massive amount of existing coal assets worldwide,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director.

Coal is both the single biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions from energy and the single biggest source of electricity generation worldwide. There are around 9,000 coal-fired power plants around the world today.

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Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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November 15, 2022
Explosives topple former coal-fired power plant in Minnesota

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GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — A decommissioned coal-fired power plant in western Minnesota crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom as part of a planned implosion that marks the end of an era in Granite Falls.

Xcel Energy — the utility company that owns the Minnesota Valley Generating Station — used explosives Thursday morning to implode the nearly century-old structure as onlookers watched from a distance.

Video from onlooker Nathan Dahlager shows a flash of bright orange light and a loud crack at the base of the massive plant. With an even louder crash, two towering smokestacks toppled as the rest of the building collapsed. Black debris flew in the air as dark smoke filled the space where the structure stood just moments before. Dahlager posted the video to Twitter with a caption: “Landmark in our community reduced to dust! Really neat to watch.”

The coal-fired plant dated back to the 1930s and closed in 2009 amid the ongoing shift to cleaner energy sources, Minnesota Public Radio News reported. Built by Northern States Power, the plant had employed people in the town for generations. High school teams in the area were even known as the Kilowatts, in a nod to the landmark.

John Marshall, regional vice president for Xcel Energy, said he is happy the demolition was safe. He said the company has been preparing for the demolition for years by removing asbestos and other hazardous materials from the site. Marshall said the company will now clean up and recycle the concrete, brick and metal from the plant’s structure.

The area will still host an operating electrical substation and transmission lines, but the plant site will likely be seeded with prairie grass and restored with vegetation, Marshall said.

Many former power plants have been destroyed in recent years. As part of its transition away from coal and toward cleaner fuel options, the Tennessee Valley Authority used dynamite to demolish an old fossil plant in Alabama last year. Similar demolitions also happened in Florida, Arizona and Illinois.

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October 28, 2022
German leader warns against ‘worldwide renaissance’ for coal

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BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Thursday that Russia’s war in Ukraine mustn’t lead to a “worldwide renaissance” for coal — comments that come as Germany itself brings coal-fired power plants back online in an effort to prevent an energy crunch this winter.

In a speech to parliament, Scholz highlighted his government’s efforts to counter the effects of Russia’s decision to cut off gas supplies to Germany. The government has in recent months approved reactivating several coal- and oil-fired power plants, and environmental activists warn that Germany risks defaulting on its climate goals by burning more fossil fuels.

Scholz said five further plants that use lignite, a low-quality and high-emission type of coal, have gone back online in recent days “as a time-limited but necessary emergency measure.” The chancellor this week also decided to keep Germany’s last three nuclear power plants, which originally were supposed to be switched off at the end of the year, running until mid-April.

“We continue to stand firmly by our climate targets,” Scholz told lawmakers.

Officials from almost 200 countries will gather next month in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to discuss how to tackle global warming.

Scholz vowed that Germany, which is moving to expand its use of renewable energy, will pass all the major legislation needed to fulfill its climate targets by the end of this year and that the European Union will stay on course. He called for a final agreement in the coming months on the EU’s proposed “Fit for 55” package to achieve the bloc’s goals of cutting emissions of the gases that cause global warming by 55% over this decade.

“The Russian aggression and its consequences mustn’t lead to a worldwide renaissance of coal,” the chancellor said. “We will make clear offers so that developing and emerging countries also can embark resolutely on the path toward a climate-neutral energy sector.”

“We will vigorously help the states that today already are suffering particularly from the consequences of climate change,” he added.

Germany’s foreign minister said earlier this month that Berlin wants the huge economic damage resulting from global warming to be discussed at the climate talks in Egypt.

Coal accounted for 31.4% of Germany’s electricity generation in this year’s first half, up from 27.1% a year earlier. Around 48.5% of the country’s electricity came from renewable sources, up from 43.8% the year before, while the proportions derived from nuclear power and gas declined to 6% and 11.7%, respectively.

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October 20, 2022
EU countries turn to Africa in bid to replace Russian gas

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DAKAR, Senegal — A new liquefied natural gas project off Africa‘s western coast may only be 80% complete, but already the prospect of a new energy supplier has drawn visits from the leaders of Poland and Germany.

The initial field near Senegal and Mauritania’s coastlines is expected to contain about 15 trillion cubic feet (425 billion cubic meters) of gas, five times more than what gas-dependent Germany used in all of 2019. But production isn’t expected to start until the end of next year.

That won’t help solve Europe’s energy crisis triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Still, Gordon Birrell, an executive for project co-developer BP, says the development “could not be more timely” as Europe seeks to reduce its reliance on Russian natural gas to power factories, generate electricity and heat homes.

“Current world events are demonstrating the vital role that (liquid gas) can play in underpinning the energy security of nations and regions,” he told an energy industry meeting in West Africa last month.

While Africa’s natural gas reserves are vast and North African countries like Algeria have pipelines already linked to Europe, a lack of infrastructure and security challenges have long stymied producers in other parts of the continent from scaling up exports. Already-established African producers are cutting deals or reducing energy use so they have more to sell to boost their finances, but some leaders warn that hundreds of millions of Africans lack electricity and supplies are needed at home.

Nigeria has Africa’s largest natural gas reserves, said Horatius Egua, a spokesman for the petroleum minister, though it accounts for only 14% of the European Union’s imports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, that comes by ship. Projects face the risk of energy thefts and high costs. Other promising countries like Mozambique have discovered large gas reserves only to see projects delayed by violence from Islamic militants.

Europe has been scrambling to secure alternative sources as Moscow has reduced natural gas flows to EU countries, triggering soaring energy prices and growing expectations of a recession. The 27-nation EU, whose energy ministers are meeting this week to discuss a gas price cap, is bracing for the possibility of a complete Russian cutoff but has still managed to fill gas reserves to 90%.

European leaders have flocked to countries like Norway, Qatar, Azerbaijan and especially those in North Africa, where Algeria has a pipeline running to Italy and another to Spain.

Italy signed a $4 billion gas deal with Algeria in July, a month after Egypt reached an agreement with the European Union and Israel to boost sales of LNG. Angola also has signed a gas deal with Italy.

While an earlier agreement allowed Italy’s biggest energy company to start production at two Algerian gas fields this week, it was wasn’t clear when flows would start from the July deal because it lacked specifics, analysts said.

African leaders like Senegalese President Macky Sall want their countries to cash in on these projects even as they’re being dissuaded from pursuing fossil fuels. They don’t want to export it all either — an estimated 600 million Africans lack access to electricity.

“It is legitimate, fair and equitable that Africa, the continent that pollutes the least and lags furthest behind in the industrialization process should exploit its available resources to provide basic energy, improve the competitiveness of its economy and achieve universal access to electricity,” Sall told the U.N. General Assembly last month.

Algeria is a major supplier — it and Egypt accounted for 60% of the natural gas production in Africa in 2020 — but it can’t offset Russian gas to Europe at this stage, said Mahfoud Kaoubi, professor of economics and specialist in energy issues at the University of Algiers.

“Russia has an annual production of 270 billion cubic meters — it’s huge,” Kaoubi said. “Algeria is 120 billion cubic meters, of which 70.50% is intended for consumption on the internal market.”

This year, Algeria is forecast to have piped exports of 31.8 billion cubic meters, according to Tom Purdie, a Europe, Middle East and Africa gas analyst with S&P Global Commodity Insights.

“The key concern here surrounds the level of production step-up that can be achieved, and the impact domestic demand could have” given how much gas Algeria uses at home, Purdie said.

Cash-strapped Egypt also is looking to export more natural gas to Europe, even regulating air conditioning in shopping malls and lights on streets to save energy and sell it instead.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly says Egypt hopes to bring in an additional $450 million a month in foreign currency by rerouting 15% of its domestic gas usage for export, state media reported.

More than 60% of Egypt’s natural gas consumption still is used by power stations to keep the country running. Most of its LNG goes to Asian markets.

A new, three-party deal will see Israel send more gas to Europe via Egypt, which has facilities to liquefy it for export by sea. The EU says it will help the two countries increase gas production and exploration.

In Nigeria, ambitious plans have yet to yield results despite years of planning. The country exported less than 1% of its vast natural gas reserves last year.

A proposed 4,400-kilometer-long (2,734-mile-long) pipeline that would take Nigerian gas to Algeria through Niger has been stalled since 2009, mainly because of its estimated cost of $13 billion.

Many fear that even if completed, the Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline would face security risks like Nigeria’s oil pipelines, which have come under frequent attacks from militants and vandals.

The same challenges would hinder increased gas exports to Europe, said Olufola Wusu, a Lagos-based oil and gas expert.

“If you look at the realities on ground — issues that have to do with crude oil theft — and others begin to question our ability to supply gas to Europe,” he said.

Wusu urged pursuing LNG, calling it the “most profitable” gas strategy so far.

Even that isn’t without issues: In July, the head of Nigeria LNG Limited, the country’s largest natural gas firm, said its plant was producing at just 68% of capacity, mainly because its operations and earnings have been stifled by oil theft.

In the south, Mozambique is slated to become a major exporter of LNG after significant deposits were found along its Indian Ocean coast in 2010. France’s TotalEnergies invested $20 billion and started work to extract gas that would be liquefied in a plant it was building in Palma, in the northern Cabo Delgado province.

But Islamic extremist violence forced TotalEnergies to indefinitely scupper the project last year. Mozambican officials have pledged to secure the Palma area to allow work to resume.

Italian firm Eni, meanwhile, pressed ahead with its plan to pump and liquefy some of its gas deposits discovered in Mozambique in 2011 and 2014. Eni established a platform in the Indian Ocean 50 miles (80 kilometers) offshore, away from the violence in Cabo Delgado.

It’s the first floating LNG facility in the deep waters off Africa, Eni says, with gas liquefaction capacity of 3.4 million tons per year.

The platform liquefied its first gas on Oct. 2, according to Africa Energy, and the first shipment is expected to depart for Europe in mid-October.

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Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria; Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Samy Magdy in Cairo; Andrew Meldrum in Johannesburg; and Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.

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October 11, 2022
German energy company RWE to end coal use by 2030

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BERLIN — German energy company RWE said Tuesday that it will phase out the burning of coal by 2030, saving 280 million metric tons of climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions.

The decision will accelerate the closure of some of Europe’s most polluting power plants and a vast lignite strip mine in western Germany.

It will also prevent the eviction of residents of several villages and farms west of Cologne near the Garzweiler mine. The exception is Luetzerath, a hamlet that has been the focus of protests by environmentalists and which will now need to be cleared to extract more coal in the short-term.

The government argues this is necessary to ensure energy security amid the fallout of Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

RWE’s announcement boosts the German government’s efforts to bring forward the deadline for phasing out coal use by eight years as part of the country’s goal of ending its greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who is responsible for energy, said negotiations with the operators of Germany’s other coal mines and eight coal-fired power plants were ongoing.

The Fridays for Future climate activist group said the announcement that Luetzerath will be destroyed and some coal-fired plants will temporarily be kept online for longer to cover possible energy shortfalls was “cynical.” It said protests against the plan would be organized in several locations across Germany.

In parallel to its phaseout of coal, RWE said it would expand renewable energy production and build gas-fired power plants capable of burning hydrogen.

RWE, which over the weekend announced the purchase of American company Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses, said it is now on a path that is compatible with the 2015 Paris climate accord’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

Separately on Tuesday, the Netherlands said it plans to join a German-led initiative to promote the market ramp-up of hydrogen produced using renewable energy.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the two countries will also explore cooperation on future offshore wind parks in the North Sea that would produce both electricity and “green hydrogen.”

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October 4, 2022