COP28
The 28th annual UN climate meeting, held this year in Dubai, is already fueling controversy, after the host country revealed plans to expand oil production and the president of the summit made comments throwing doubt on the role that fossil fuels play in limiting climate change.
But one substantial policy from the summit has been agreed: the US, along with 56 other nations, has formally committed to transitioning away from coal power, pledging no new coal plants and a phase-out of existing production.
Although nearly 20% of US electricity was still powered by coal in October, the amount of coal burned nationwide has more than halved since 2008 — “peak coal” (at least in terms of electricity consumption) in the US was roughly 15 years ago.
Changing hearts and mines
It’s been documented for some time that — in order to produce the same amount of energy — coal emits some 80% more carbon dioxide than natural gas, 35% more than gasoline, and substantially more than renewable sources... which is why many of the recent discussions focus on economics, rather than science.
The coal commitment will be welcomed by many, but the wider cost of a full global energy transition to net zero is hard to get your head around. Estimates vary, but they all use the same units: trillions of dollars. McKinsey’s latest guess? A final price tag of $275 trillion, or $35,000 for every man, woman, and child on the planet.
