From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
By Paul Homewood
New Statesman analysis of climate and trade data exposes how much the UK’s net-zero agenda depends on cheap foreign coal power, particularly from China.
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The UK’s top four trade partners are Germany, the US, China and the Netherlands. All four of these countries have a significantly larger share of coal-fired electricity in their energy supply than the UK does. This means that goods produced in factories in those countries will typically have a higher emissions footprint than those produced in UK factories.
China’s power grid is particularly carbon-intensive, with coal-fired power plants running 60 per cent of its grid. The UK has capitalised on cheap imports made using low-cost Chinese coal power, with imports from China to the UK more than doubling in value over the past decade.
For its part, China has positioned itself as a leader in the production of clean technologies such as batteries and solar panels (80 per cent of the global supply of which is manufactured in China). These too are made using cheap coal-fired electricity, which helps China to undercut other countries. China is also trying to dominate the extraction and processing of minerals key to the energy transition. It is responsible for 60 per cent of global production of rare earth elements, which are crucial for low-carbon technologies.“For other countries, the choice is between making use of China’s low-cost supply chain, but with the risk of reliance on China, or building their own supply chains using a combination of trade protectionism and subsidies to offset China’s subsidies and cost advantages,” said Lauri Myllyvirta of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
The UK’s reliance on China’s low-cost clean tech and mineral exports can be seen in HMRC trade data, which reveals how the UK imported large shares of its energy transition technologies and products from China in 2022 – including 64 per cent of rare earth metals and 49 per cent of lithium batteries.
Via its Belt and Road initiative, China was for many years by far the largest financier of new coal power plants worldwide – until Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, told the UN General Assembly in September 2021 that China would build “no new coal power plants abroad”. There have been loopholes, however, that have enable China to finance the construction of some coal-fired plants that power industrial facilities rather than the national grid. These are known as “captive” power plants.
China-backed captive power plants are a particularly significant phenomenon in Indonesia. The country uses captive coal power to smelt nickel, a metal central to the production of batteries used in electric vehicles. Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of nickel. A 2020 ban in Indonesia on the export of unprocessed nickel ore, designed to maximise the value of Indonesian nickel within Indonesia itself, has further increased demand in the country for nickel smelters powered by captive coal power plants.
Solar and wind cannot sustain industrial society. Which is what the Green Blob wants.
It beggars belief! Actually, no, it doesn’t – any scam always has its internal contradictions
Nice data rundown, albeit directionally obvious. Amazing that the net zero crowd can be so oblivious.
Really, no. I have lamented the proud innumeracy of the British political class repreatedly here. If anyone had any doubts I offer the testimony of Boris Johnson to the Hallett Enquiry last week, repeatedly admitting he was unable to grasp what he was being told when shown graphs.
(Don’t let’s NOT go down the rabbit-hole of thinking about how abysmal the science briefings were. A more numerate and scientifically literate PM would have asked the hard questions and pulled at the loose threads. But no. Climate; covid—all one big terra incognito, as Boris might like to put it.)
A fantasy of yours that “A more numerate and scientifically literate PM” would have questioned what was presented in support of the narrative?
That would truly be a rare and special event.
Actually here you are wrong.
Thatcher, like her or hate her, had a science degree and knew plenty about statistics.
She, set her own agenda and knew a fake/conman when she saw it, but it took her time.
History proved her right about Scargill.
This is why she set out to erase the UK coal industry and launder all the oil money throught the “big bang” city banks.
She then set about expanding coal imports on the basis of it being cheaper and apolitical.
She certainly never advocated imperilling the grid, knocking down good working coal PP like Didcot or selling our own nuclear industry, because she needed all that stocked coa & electricityl to burn out the NUM!
(something that stupid Heath guy pedo couldn’t figure out).
It took determined socialists like Bliar and Gordon the moron to be able to wreck all that and flog off the house china.
Deindustrializing Britain looks in hindsight as a long term Gov policy, since the arrival of that dumb Blair guy, to be completed by the next 20 years of lies, woffle and Brexit.
In her memoirs, Thatcher quite rightly wrote – contrary to that leanding scientific liar she had appointed (Sir) J T Houghton…that the climate scam was as dangerous (as the communism she and Regan partly and bloodlessly dismantled),, in that it relied on unproven / fake science with no rigour attached.
Her own Aiery Neave MP who had a large hand putting her in power, attempting to get the Irish question solved, (and paid for it with his life) had a perfect experience* of totalitarianism as he had put imprisoned by the Germans during the war.
Experience* of proper dictatorship or even cartel mongers tends to lead to sensible politicians less than clueless about the consequences of handing over the control of their country to foreign powers which are rarely benign.
Yep: she was the rare and special event that few fully appreciated at the time!
Though what Thatcher didn’t initially forsee was that, by relying on imported coal, she put power in the hands of the rail unions who moved it from port to power-station. That’s why she was so keen on the swithch to gas which came via pipes.
The BRICS11+ with China are causing so much butthurt. here is a butturt report for filing with authorities:
The BRICS11+ with China are causing so much butthurt. here is a buthturt report for filing with authorities:
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Doesnt make sense . China is a massive importer of Thermal Coal for its power stations, massive amounts- like 28 mill tons per month in the winter peak months. Mostly from Indonesia , the worlds largest – by a country mile- exporter of coal
“ the worlds largest – by a country mile- exporter of coal”
Not sure you have that correct
According to the data from World’s Top Exports, the top 3 coal exporting countries in the world in 2022 were:
1… Australia with a total export value of $83.3 billion (35% of total coal exports).
2… Indonesia with a total export value of $46.7 billion (19.6% of total coal exports).
3… Russia with a total export value of $42.8 billion (18% of total coal exports).
Maybe Indonesia is top by weight, haven’t found weight values for 2022…
… but Australia is far ahead with coal exports on value.
But , Statista gives.. Indonesia ahead in tonnage in 2021.
483 million short tons to Australia’s 403 mst.
Coal exports share worldwide by country 2022 | Statista
Seems Australia is way ahead by value in 2022… still hunting weight amounts for 2022
Would be interesting if I could find them.. but its dog walkies time. 🙂
Indonesia exported 465Mt of thermal coal in 2022. But Indonesia imports some 8Mt of metallurgical coal. Australia exports a total of 390Mt of met and thermal coal. The met coal is the higher value commodity.
So “by a country mile” is not an apt description unless you are in a very small country.
Most metal smelting relies on met coal so is a key input to heavy industry.
Monaco works for a small country
Got curious so looked it up. Indonesian thermal coal is mid rank sub-bituminous. Australian thermal is mostly bituminous, so has a significantly higher heating value so price/ton. And Australia is a major exporter of metallugical coal (anthracite) which has the highest heating value and price. So Indonesian exports more tons, but of lower value. Australia ranks 1 by value by far.
Thanks.
I would have looked up more earlier, but other things to do.
Walking dogs is very important in our household also.
China does not have environmental regulation as we know it. The labour is cheap – sometimes captive.
It has developing nation status. The west’s emissions appear to go down
Trebles all round
Unklike snow, UK factories are rapidly becoming something that UK children will not see. Manufacturing in the UK is in terminal decline.
As Prof Dieter Helm (Oxford Uni) puts it
“Britain does not do much manufacturing at all – it is 80% services. Few, if any, manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, EVs, heat pumps and smart meters and virtually no mineral refiners for cobalt, nickel, copper, rare earths. All need importing”
https://dieterhelm.co.uk/energy-climate/labours-28-billion/
UK funny
Springwatch star Chris Packham removed as patron from bird charity for being ‘too political’
https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/springwatch-chris-packham-removed-patron-raptor-rescue-b1125855.html
Oh well
Well it’s a start. He’s sown the seeds of his own downfall through his own ignorance and stupidity, time for him to reap what he’s sown.
Hopefully, nothing that cretin has ever sown will reap anything but his own misery.
Cogitative Dissonance abounds in these reports. By all reports China’s manufacturing is not “clean” by any definition and the products in use in the west are not “clean” beyond the most narrow definition.
I wouldn’t say they are there yet, but they are beginning to ask the awkward questions.
The New Statesman has traditionally been a publication of the Hard Left in the UK, so I’ll take some small mercies where they occur.
[The New Statesman is also the name of an epoch-defining rock climb in the UK by John Dunne. His choice of name was clearly not about left-right politics, but taking a jab at his main rival in the 1980’s. Even today the best visiting climbers in the world put it on their to-do list.]
And this is only electricity, what about all the coal, gas and oil power used in these countries’s industry and associated transport of exported goods and the folk who make them? A global map of implicit CO2 in final delivered products used country by country would be an interesting eye-opener.I’m sure.
My worry is that it will only be when we eventually get to peak hydrocarbons that the enormity of fossil fuel replacement will be understood by our myopic politicians.
Net Zero: describes the effect 28 COP meetings have had on carbon emissions.
ummmm….. Looks to me like there is a slight acceleration of CO2 emissions. !
There is a reason there has not been a demonstration project or “ proof of concept” showing a “ renewables only “ civilization is possible. And it’s not for lack of funding available. The reason there has not been one is because it won’t and can’t work- certainly not at this point in time. And I personally believe it can never work. The physics as well as the resource reality are pretty well known to the awake and sane.
I’m a bit confused.
China is buying coal from Russia.
China’s coal imports from Russia nearly doubled between March and April, reaching 4.42 million metric tons, according to trade data from Refinitiv. Russia has overtaken Australia as China’s second biggest supplier since last year.
I don’t know what it is going to take to get it through the green blobs thick skull’s that we have tried this before going all the way back to the 1970s. Many people ranging from back to nature hippy types, alternative life style conservationist, preppers small boat sailors , entrepreneurs etc etc. – the manufacturing end of the whole scheme is where you really hit the wall even if your willing to live in the 1870s.
I would have thought that it was almost axiomatic that an energy transition would be powered by the previous energy source rather than the future one. So it is not surprising that the first generation of solar cells and wind turbines are made using coal power.
But for what needs to be…
Mined
Shipped to refineries
Refined
Smelted
Transported to manufacturing (Wind Turbines, Nacelles Blades, Generators, Masts, Solar Panels…)
Site preparation
Infrastructure
Construction
Maintenance
…
To reproduce generation facilities necessary to replace FF generation and do so by Nut Zero cutoff dates will require significant emissions.
Enough to offset emissions savings for a century or more
Wind and solar will NEVER be able to be made by wind and solar.. PERIOD. !!
The more wind and solar you stupidly/insanely/moronically install…
… the more CO2 is released in making and installing them.
CO2 that would have been much better released through the production of useful, reliable energy instead of wasted creating part time, weather dependant energy that still requires FF back-up sources either in state or purchased at an even higher price from out of state
According to Wind Europe 65GW of Europe’s onshore wind will need upgrades or replacement by 2028. Nearly all of these replacements will be dependent on fossil fuels
Sounds like even second generation Wind (replacement for existing aging turbines) is still dependent on FF for its manufacture making Renewable Wind just a bunch of Hot Air
Of course. Here in Wokeachusetts, the state brags about being so energy efficient- now that it exported most blue collar jobs that use a lot of energy (textiles, shoes, paper, electronics, furniture, etc.). We now import almost everthing from China. I have pointed out to politicians and many enviro groups the absurdity of claiming energy efficiency (and low carbon footprint) when we import from China. They ignore me of course. The state is still wealthy though, with thriving top quality medical, academic, science, computer- and the like industries. Great- but the claim of energy efficiency and low carbon footprint is a lie- now pushed hard by our ruling ultra woke, climate terrified feminocracy.
There are certain things the UK has in common with Australia on this issue. The most important is the latter’s insistence that it’s striving for a greener economy; yet it doesn’t hesitate to export huge amounts of coal to various Asian countries. So the logic seems to be that the country, in its alleged striving for clean energy, doesn’t hesitate to ship out the source of carbon emissions elsewhere as though they somehow won’t have any effect on the supposed climate crisis if they’re consumed a few thousand miles away. This is the equivalent of one neighbor dumping a load of rotting foodstuffs on an adjacent lawn and believing that it won’t attract flies.