China and India’s Emissions Growth

Written by Jack Dini on January 28, 2021. Posted in Current News

In 2019 the US had the most significant reduction in CO2emissions on a country bases, while, as an entire bloc, the EU had a more considerable CO2 reduction.  (1)

However, China’s emissions growth averaged 2.6% between 2008 and 2018. China now accounts for 28% of global ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions, almost double the next largest emitter, the United States at 15%.

China is not only building coal fired plants in its own country, but it is also building them around the world. As of 2019, China had 2,363 active coal fired power plants and was building another 1,171 pants in China and hundreds more in Africa, Asia and elsewhere. Most of China’s plants (80 percent) have pollution control equipment that remove sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates, but the coal plants China is building in Africa and most likely elsewhere do not. And none of the plants China is building remove carbon dioxide despite China pledging it will be carbon neutral by 2060. Coal plants can operate for 40 to 60 years or even longer. (2)

China has invested over $50 billion in building new coal plants overseas in recent years. It is purportedly building, planning or financing more than 300 coal plants, in Turkey, Egypt, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. India, South Korea, Japan, South Africa and even Germany are also building hundreds of coal fired power plants. Over a quarter of the new coal plants outside China have some commitment or offer of funds from Chinese financial institutions.

While China is building coal plants around the world, the United States is shuttering its coal fired power plants, despite having, by far, the world’s largest supply of coal. Between January 2017 and May 2019, the United States shuttered 50 coal fired plants, with 51 more shutdowns announced, bringing the total shutdowns to 289 since 2010. (2)

Under the Biden Administration, the United States will rejoin the Paris agreement and continue to shutter US coal plants to attain carbon neutrality in the generating sector by 2035, while much of the rest of the world will be allowed to continue to emit greenhouse gas emissions from coal generating plants and other carbon sources. (3)

Yet, until the media begins to actually report the facts about China’s activities, most Americans will be unaware of the rapidly growing gap between words and actions as they apply to China’s quest to be the number one economy in the world. (2)

Here are some highlights of take-aways of the Paris Accord:

• Compliance with the terms of the Paris Accord and the onerous energy restrictions it would place on the United States could cost as much as 2.7 million lost jobs by 2025 according to the National Economic Research Association.

• China will be able to increase their emissions by a staggering number of years (13), not us. India makes its participation contingent on receiving billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from developed countries.

• China will be allowed to build hundreds of additional coal plants. So, we can’t build the plants, but they can.

• Even if the Paris Accord were implemented in full with total compliance from all nations, it is estimated it would only produce a two-tenths of a degree Celsius reduction in global temperature by the year 2100. In fact, 14 days of carbon emissions from China would wipe out the gains from America in the year 2030. (4)

China publicly demands the USA fulfill Obama’s Paris Agreement pledges, and makes a big deal of their conversion to green energy. However, behind the scenes the Chinese belt Road Initiative is starting to look like a gigantic coal plant construction exercise.

China’s party leaders know that its so-called production of renewable generating technologies, many of which are not connected to the grid, is a good smokescreen for its coal power, and few Western governments will dare to criticize China. Clearly, President Biden will not criticize China either. (2)

Despite a recent survey which suggested India is more concerned about climate change than most countries, India’s coal import will grow the fastest  rate in five years. India’s Prime Minister’s determination to extend the electric grid to poor people, coupled with a drop in domestic production appears to be driving a surge in demand for coal imports. (5)

Indian leaders are ramping up the country’s coal production by opening a new mine every month, despite signing the Paris climate agreement.

So, despite the rise of renewables, the roll call of governments adding coal fired plants include four of the world’s most populous nations: China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan. As developed nations retired coal plants, consumption and production of coal advanced in Asia at the fastest rate in five years.

With soft, voluntary commitments under the Paris Accord, China, like India and others can cheerlead, while requesting ‘cash for climate action’ out of a $100 billion annual kitty. –

China will continue to get a total pass on complying with the Paris accord and will continue to build coal plants in Asia and Africa, many of which operate without scrubbing equipment.

References

1. Luana Steffen, “USA had the greatest CO2 reduction in the world in 2019,” intelligentliving.co, February 19, 220
2. “China’s actions defy commitment to carbon neutrality,’ Institute for Energy Research, Canada Free Press, January 19, 2021
3. Emma Newburger, “President Joe Biden rejoins the Paris climate accord in the first move to tackle global warming,” cnbc.com, Jaaury    20, 2012
4. Robert Bradley, Jr. “Trump’s Paris decision on year later: looking better and better,” wattsupwiththat.com, June 1, 2018
5. Eric Worrall, “Climate concerned India’s coal imports surging,” wattsupwiththat.com, September 18, 2019

About the author: Jack Dini is author of Challenging Environmental Mythology. He has written for The American Council on Science and Health, Environment & Climate News, Hawaii Reporter and Canada Free Press.

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