Beijing to Abandon Coal Power by 2020

[peoli]

Beijing, the capital of China, has recently announced that it will ban all industrial use of coal by the end of 2020 in a continued effort to severely cap its country's greenhouse gas emissions.

A study published earlier this year in Environmental Research Letters reported that China remains one of the world's top greenhouse gas emitters, making up 63 percent of the world's emissions along with the United States, Russia, Brazil, India, Germany and the United Kingdom.

However, the massive industrialized country is also the world leader in efforts to cut those emissions. China was recently found to be the world's largest user or renewable energy products and "green" technological advances.

In an effort to cut its carbon footprint even further, China also recently followed the example of the US's new Clean Power Plan, declaring an aim to cut carbon dioxide emission levels by 30 percent by the year 2030. China's Advisory Committee on Climate Change, told a conference in Beijing that an absolute cap for CO2 emissions will be written into the country's next five-year-plan, which will be enacted come 2016.

http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/8581/20140816/beijing-abandon-coal-power-2020.htm

[NickB79]

1. Not to sound like a buzzkill, but too little, too late

When all the major climate researchers are saying we need an 80% or greater cut in CO2 emissions from 1990's levels to prevent uncontrollable climate change, 30% from today's much higher levels won't stop the shitstorm that is approaching.

Also, while China talks a big game, they keep doing shit like this: http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20140213/chinas-plan-clean-air-cities-will-doom-climate-scientists-say?page=show

China is erecting huge industrial complexes in remote areas to convert coal to synthetic fuel that could make the air in its megacities cleaner. But the complexes use so much energy that the carbon footprint of the fuel is almost double that of conventional coal and oil, spelling disaster for earth's climate, a growing chorus of scientists is warning.

Efforts by China to develop so-called "coal bases" in its far-flung regions have received scant attention beyond the trade press, but scientists watching the effort say it could cause climate damage that eclipses worldwide climate protection efforts.

The facilities, which resemble oil refineries, use coal to make liquid fuels, chemicals, power and "syngas," which is like natural gas but extracted from coal. The fuels and electricity are then transported to China's big cities to be burned in power plants, factories and cars.

Currently 16 coal base sites are being built and many are operational. One being constructed in Inner Mongolia will eventually occupy nearly 400 square miles—almost the size of the sprawling city of Los Angeles.

[Demeter]

2. We don't even get lip service here, though

Points to China.