No room at all for coal, says IPCC sounds alarm on climate change

There is no room at all for new coal globally, according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The intergovernmental panel finds that all unabated coal fired power plants need to be shuttered by 2050 if the world is to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Global use of coal would need to fall by 95 per cent by 2050 compared to 2020. This leaves very little to no room at all for abated and unabated coal.

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IEA’s net zero pathways report released last year estimated a need for 98 per cent decline in coal power by 2050, however, IPCC estimates that complete phaseout is needed to ensure global temperature rise is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Coal fired power plants that don’t have Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) facilities are considered unabated coal power plants.There are about 2,400 units totalling about 2100 GW of operational coal fired power plants around the world. Another 175 GW is under construction and about 280GW in various pre-construction phases.

According to Central Electricity Authority data, India has about 211GW of operational coal fired power plants, and as per Global Energy Monitor data -- another 31GW being constructed and about 24GW in various pre-construction phases.

“None of the existing under construction coal fired power plants in India have CCS facilities. Since the cost of electricity from new solar and wind power plants, including batteries, is a lot cheaper than new coal, adding CCS would further increase the cost of electricity. There are environmental and resource considerations that need to be taken as well. Adding CCS to a coal power plant increases water consumption by up to 150 per cent,” according to the IPCC’s Working Group 3 report, circulated through a statement.

Out of all the under construction coal power plants, more than 63 per cent or 19.9GW is either completely or partially financed by Power Finance corporation (PFC) and its subsidiary Rural Electrification Corporation (REC). PFC is a state-owned financial institution and now the sole financier of coal power plants in India.

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