September 18, 2018

Coal’s temporary return to the U.K. could be catastrophic

located:	United Kingdom
editor:	Shira Jeczmien

Trump loves coal. We are all well aware of that. And while the world has been watching the President spend a large amount of his term thus far breaking down any coal and oil divestment legislation put in place by the Obama administration, we have been a little less focused on how other large economies’ relationship to coal has changed in recent years.

As a result of gas prices hitting a decade spike in the U.K., coal plants are becoming increasingly cheaper to run and with that, the British fetish for coal burning is becoming apparent. It was reported this week that Britain might not be able to meet its targets of reducing 80 percent of emissions by 2050, in line with Paris Accord, as the rise in cheaper coal burning is set to rank up the country’s electricity emissions for the first time after a graduate six-year decline.

While some may disregard the perhaps temporary exchange of gas for coal due to price surges, an Imperial College London report indicated that this September alone, coal burning is set to increase emissions by 15 percent, which simply put by The Guardian’s Adam Vaughan, is the “equivalent to an extra 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hour.”

The energy sector is the second most polluting in the country behind transportation. Yet despite this fact, it is also one of the U.K.’s greatest successes in staying on track to reduce emissions with a rise and implementation of renewable energy sources. Therefore while the U.K.’s return to coal might well be temporary, it could still bring a fatal blow to the country meeting its emission targets.  

With the winter months fast approaching and the usual rise in gas prices due to a high demand in heating, Dr Ian Staffel, who is the author of the Imperial College report states that, “there’s a pretty good worry that we’re looking at up to six months of coal being the cheapest source.”

Whether coal is making a comeback for good or only temporarily, there must be policies in place that block the interchangeable nature of energy providers to swap between coal and gas while toying with renewable energy sources when it suits them best. EDF Energy, RWE and SSE all operate in this way.

The catch here is that with climate change increasingly affecting the U.K. (and the world), the demand for heating and cooling is equally growing. ICIS, a marketing and intelligence firm, has reported that coal energy will constitute 10.5 percent of the energy consumed this year, which is a 0.5 rise from 2017. Yet with unpredictable weather patterns, another uncharacteristically cold winter in Britain could see those numbers rise exponentially.

Tackling climate change and drastically reducing emissions requires bulky legislation that prevents a pick and mix approach to energy sources. Britain needs to invest in renewable energy innovation and providers while urgently encouraging and even subsidising its population’s transition to clean energy only.

Photo: Spyridon Natsikos/wikipedia