Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Former UNFCCC secretary Christiana Figueres, architect of the Paris Agreement, has called Australia’s planned giant new coal mine a “Kodak moment”, a doomed investment in a superseded technology, right in the middle of an unprecedented global rush to new coal capacity.
The ‘Kodak moment’ for coal, and why the Adani mine could be a financial disaster
The World Today By Stephen Long
The woman who led the world to a global climate change agreement has a message for Australia: “You really do have to see that we are at the Kodak moment for coal.”
Christiana Figueres, until last year the executive director of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, doesn’t mean happy snaps for the family album.
Rather, the decimation of the once dominant photographic company Kodak by digital change — in the same way that coal-fired power is being eclipsed by renewable energy.
She hopes to see coal, like those sentimental moments in time captured in photographs, confined to history — with the world remembering the contribution the fossil fuel has made to human development, while recognising the need to retire it as a fuel source because of its contribution to global warming.
And, she says, it’s happening.
“The fact is that we are already seeing the decline of coal, we are seeing more and more countries phasing out of coal,” Ms Figueres, who is based in London, told the ABC.
“We just had 25 countries come together [at the latest international climate change talks] in Bonn to say that they are moving out of coal in the short term.
“That does not include Australia or India or China, but you can begin to see the trend.
“India is headed for peaking its coal consumption by the year 2027.”
…
Back in the real world, even green Europe is finally tiring of the expense and empty promises of the renewables industry (h/t Benny Peiser);
Spain resists coal phase-out
By Aline Robert
The Spanish government is challenging a decision by its main electricity provider to shut down two coal-fired power plants. An attitude that contravenes the Paris Agreement on climate change. EURACTIV France reports.
The Spanish government has engaged in a strange stand-off over Iberdrola’s plan to phase out coal, announced at climate talks in Bonn last week. The company’s CEO, Ignacio Sánchez Galán, pledged to close Iberdola’s coal power plants, including the two Spanish power stations, in Lada in Asturias and Velilla, in the autonomous community of Castilla y Leon.
The Spanish company’s plan is to become carbon neutral by 2050, with a 50% reduction of its emissions in 2030 compared to 2007, and investments of €85 billion in renewables in total.
Electricity utility Iberdola is directing 42% of new investments into networks, hoping to reap the benefits of an economy-wide electrification process currently underway in Europe and across the world, a senior company executive has told EURACTIV.
However, rather than encourage the country’s biggest electricity provider, the energy ministry drafted a decree on the procedure of closure of energy facilities, which poses new and very restrictive conditions to close an electricity production site: a site cannot be closed if it is profitable, or if its closure is a threat to the security of supply, or if the prices of electricity may climb.
…
Read more: http://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/spain-resists-coal-phase-out/
Germany meanwhile is clear felling protected ancient forests to dig up more coal (h/t Benny Peiser).
German court: Ancient forest can be cleared for coal mine
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BERLIN — Nov 24, 2017, 11:21 AM ET
A court in western Germany says an ancient forest near the Belgian border can be chopped down to make way for a coal strip mine.
Cologne’s administrative court ruled Friday against a legal complaint brought by the environmental group BUND that wanted to halt the clearance of much of the Hambach forest.
…
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/german-court-ancient-forest-cleared-coal-mine-51362826
Sadly the German article does not detail whether the remains of the ancient forest will be fed into Britain’s huge Drax coal and biomass generator.
And lets not ignore China’s promise to boost their coal capacity by an entire Canada worth of energy by 2020.
One day coal will be superseded; nothing lasts forever. But with formerly green Europe chopping down ancient forests and preventing plant closures to stave off energy disaster, with Asia building coal capacity as fast as they can churn out new generators, I suggest Christiana’s claim that coal is over is a little premature.
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“coal-fired power is being eclipsed by renewable energy.” says Stephen Long.
according to BP 2016 energy report global production: (took me 2 seconds to google this)
renewables was about 1%
coal was about 30%
Stephen Long is either a terrible reporter who can’t perform the most basic tasks pertinent to his job or he is an outright dishonest man trying to con his audience for some reason.
source:
http://www.euanmearns.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/bp2016primarypercent.png
Long was likely repeating something he’d read in a Green NGO’s newsletter or website.
I think this problem is created by rapid growth of renewables – starting of course from a very low base. Somehow this gets morphed into an assertion that fossil fuels are on the way out.
I hear this a lot. It’s a popular non-fact being peddled by all the time by ignorant people. I heard it recently from a guy selling shares in wind farm projects.
The rabid growth of renewables is the result of subsidies and mandates.
Remove them and rabid growth quickly turns into abandonment.
The disconnect likely takes place due to the fractured nature of the energy market. It’s (very) roughly a third each for electricity, transportation, and industrial/commercial/residential, as tracked by the EIA. Renewables are really only feeding into the electrical sector. So overall, their penetration in electricity is a third their general penetration.
Once we run out of oil, we’ll need to rely on gasoline refined from coal …
and or natural gas
Here is a short video of Christiana Figueres delusional daydream for us:
…as she drives off in a diesel or gas powered Mercedes taxi.
A transformation guided by a centralized policy perspective adopted by a self elected world government will certainly make the life of everyone on the planet different, but not in the nice way that some progressive may wish to imagine. Despite the abundance of spectacular failures of socialism within the past generation, like moths to a flame a large number amongst are rushing headlong into this direction, in the misguided belief that ‘we will do it right this time’.
As one young communist explained to me, “This time it will work, because this time we will be the ones in charge.”
@MarkW;
One word rebuttal – “Russia”.
As long as there are people, like most of us, who would like to have more than what a central authority may provide or allow, there will be under-the-counter transactions and a healthy black market.. Even in fully communist societies, capitalism thrives. It is human nature and won’t be undone by the utopians.
Kodak is a topic that is near to my heart. Back around 1980 Kodak decided that today’s bottom line was more important than producing a great product. Kodak had great technology, they knew how to do it right, they could have stayed in the lead, but they let Fuji eat their lunch. Executive bonuses probably became the name of the game for them. Losing at the digital game was just the icing on the cake.
Albert said in part: “. . .Executive bonuses probably became the name of the game for them.. . .”
Perhaps to a degree. But the extraordinarily kind way they treated ALL their employees (like their famous “Wage Dividend”), which they could well-afford originally, was more draining in the long haul.
A paid shill will say anything to try to get you to believe, whether it is true or not. There sure are a lot of them out there.
Like Obama, HRC, and host of other conniving Progressives Fugueres isn’t going away. Even when she dies, steps out of favor, or becomes useless to the ’cause’ there’s someone there to replace her. As long as the Progressives control the media it will be a challenge to maintain Democracy and Capitalism. AGW is just another tool in the quest for power.
The the thing that always gets me is that they refuse to say much of anything about Nuclear Power. If the situation is so drastic and threatening then any danger from nuclear power surely is less a risk and should be embraced as a relatively quick answer to the reduction of carbon emission.
No?
They absolutely hate nuclear power for some reason. From Dr. Phil Jones, former head of the British CRU, Climategate email 0837094033.txt:
Like you say it simply doesn’t make sense that they are worried about nuclear safety in the face of what they claim is the imminent end of the world.
some Greens – the Guardian’s George Monbiot – are pro nuclear.
The real objection in the UK is the enormous cost… if and when the Hinkley Point reactor comes online in the UK it will riase electricity costs, hitting the poorest families
Oh come on Griff, this hypocrisy of yours is just plain insult.
Insult, to use the “poorest families” as some kind of human shield.
Insult, because you just don’t care to hit them when it comes financing your so dear bird-choppers and bird-fryers, even more expensive than nuclear. You are SO happy that Germany doubled electricity rates, just to pay for them.
The cheapest way to produce electricity nowadays, and for the coming decades, is hydro and gas. But Hydro is not allowed anymore, so this leaves gas. Everything else is hitting the poorest families, and that indeed includes nuclear, and even more so wind and solar.
Anyone promoting anything else as just no right to play the “poorest families” card.
jakee308,
I am convinced that those that push this global warming meme have never sat down and thought their fantasy through .
The modern world depends on energy and the cheaper the better as all wealth comes from energy .
Go back a hundred years and see how the serfs lived compared with the ruling class .How many men to dig a canal by hand and horse powered wagons and some gunpowder .A hydraulic digger can do the work of many and this is repeated in every workplace and industry in the world .
If it is so important to phase out fossil fuel energy then nuclear power is the only option at this time .
If all the money that has been wasted on climate change had been put towards developing a safe nuclear power option then coal could be left in the ground for another millennium,
I am convinced that those that push for zero carbon energy have no idea how the world works and the quickest way to poverty in any country is to De-carbonize which in reality is to de -energize an economy .
I wonder which green government will be the first to try this experiment and how long will the people stand for a social experiment that pushes the majority of the population into poverty .
Well, the change is already underway in more than half of the EU countries (and the UK). Sweden has set its date for being zero carbon… its largest brewery (carlsberg) just went 1005 renewable heat and power…
watermelon are all in tertiary or government jobs, they believe in “Knowledge economy”, they see only minute amounts of electricity they need to work : a desk in a Zero-energy building, computer and phone, and that’s it. Isn’t that so small, that it can be powered be renewable with a minute battery back-up?
They don’t see the background of huge energy use that allows this to be.
“how long will the people stand for a social experiment that pushes the majority of the population into poverty”
Political experience shows that, as long richer neighbors are hit harder than they are, and they are presented some scapegoats to blame instead, or that they got some POWA to show they are the MASTA over others, many people are quite supportive of impoverishing politics.
So..When will that brewery begin producing the CO2 free Beer??
Tried the Carbon Free variety once but it left me flat
A strange article.
No evidence coal use is actually increasing…
Spain will no doubt come round: it doesn’t need the coal generation and all 170 jobs affected have been promised new work… and Eric missed the similar stand off over 2 small coal plants in Italy, part of the large coal/gas shut down Enel is carrying out on its fossil fuel plant.
Germany isn’t using any more coal…
Your grasp on reality is just as daft as Christiana’s, as is your reading comprehension.
https://youtu.be/Ji9qSuQapFY
Griff
The use of coal in Kyrgyzstan is increasing and is the official policy of the government for newly constructed buildings to use coal for space heating. This policy is common in countries that are short of electricity and where gas prices are high.
The consumption of coal in China is increasing.
The consumption of coal in Germany will be increasing as their 23 new coal-fired power plants come online.
The consumption of coal in Poland and Russia is increasing.
Griffy .
Zero carbon is a marketing ploy .Pure and simple .
No fossil fuels are used to grow the malting barley Yea right
No fossil fuel is used to grow and process the hops Yea right
No fossil fuels are used to power the brewery . Yea right
The water arrives at the brewery out of the sky Yea right
The bottles are manufactured with no fossil fuel Yea right
All of the workers walk to work Yea right
The beer is distributed by horse and cart Yea right
The brewery plants trees to offset the emissions Maybe
The brewery purchases carbon credits Wow
The electricity is coming across borders so it dos’nt count as carbon .
The whole process is audited Yea right
These people never could recognize reality. Viva la COAL!
I’m amazed that someone hasn’t written a book on the Trump Effect. It is an amazing bit of sociology that the long corrupted discipline of sociology will never touch. Psychologists could also have had a field day with the career ending climate blues of a number of climate scientists because of the Pause but instead, chose to be enablers of their faux rationale for the disorder – supporting classic psych D*nile.
In these events, its as if sensible people have had to go underground for survival, but with an iconoclast like Trump coming along and giving them “permission” they have re-emerged from hiding and have begun to turn this whole ugly mess around.
She was on BBC Today recently spouting death of coal. Was she challenged by the egregious Humphreys? No
I remember fondly how the UN lead the move to Digital Photography……
More than 400m people are dependent on the direct combustion of coal for domestic heating and cooking. There is no reason for them to stop doing so.
That said, there is no reason not to use modern technology when burning it.
The number of people dependent indirectly on coal for electricity is far larger of course, in the billions. If there is a shared right to emit CO2, the poor should have their share as well. This equal rights approach may have negative consequences for Ms Figueres and her workmates because they will have to reduce, reuse and recycle more than most. I see no reason why she should place any of the burden on those who are already poor.