Remember a while back when Obama came back from China with a bilateral climate agreement in which China would cap its greenhouse gas emissions by . . . 2030? Never mind that China’s GHG emissions would double during that period—such is the desperation of the climatistas for glittering pieces of paper that they gushed about how the planet was now saved, because China is finally on board!
The New York Times reports today:
China Burns Much More Coal Than Reported, Complicating Climate Talks
BEIJING — China, the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gases from coal, has been burning up to 17 percent more coal a year than the government previously disclosed, according to newly released data. The finding could complicate the already difficult efforts to limit global warming.
Even for a country of China’s size, the scale of the correction is immense. The sharp upward revision in official figures means that China has released much more carbon dioxide — almost a billion more tons a year according to initial calculations — than previously estimated.
The increase alone is greater than the whole German economy emits annually from fossil fuels.
I especially enjoy this little detail buried way down in the story:
This is not the first time China has underestimated its coal consumption. In the late 1990s, small coal mines were ordered to close, but many of them simply stopped reporting their output to the government. For a time, this created an erroneous impression that China had succeeded in generating economic growth without increasing emissions.
Oops.
But I’m sure we can trust China to comply fully with any climate agreement that comes out of Paris next month.
But that’s only the beginning of the story about how energy reality is harshing green mellow. Reuters reports today:
In Asia alone this year power companies are building more than 500 coal-fired plants, with at least a thousand more on planning boards.
That’s more than the total number of coal plants in the U.S. Which Obama is trying to close down. In fact, just today Michael Bloomberg and Michael Brune (head of the Sierra Club) proudly proclaim: “We’re Winning the War Against Coal.” (Nice to see they admit they’re waging a “war” against an entire industry.) But the war doesn’t seem to be going very well overseas:
The shine is coming off once bright prospects for natural gas as the future fossil fuel of choice in Asia as power companies in India and Southeast Asia tap abundant and cheap domestic coal resources to generate electricity.
Asian loyalty to coal is shrinking the space available for natural gas just as supplies are ramping up after massive investments in U.S. and Australian output. Demand growth for natural gas is also slowing in top energy consumer China, further dampening the fuel’s prospects.
While much attention has been given to a potential peak in China’s coal demand and worries about emissions, in Asia alone this year power companies are building more than 500 coal-fired plants, with at least a thousand more on planning boards. Coal is not only cheaper than natural gas, it is often available locally and has no heavy import costs.
The greenies keep telling us that wind and solar are now cheaper than fossil fuel, yet the developing world somehow doesn’t get on board. Maybe because it is a lie.
Here’s a useful chart on what’s happening from the World Resources Institute:
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