GWPF Newsletter: The World Returns To Coal

Coal Boom Looms After Labor Government Approves Mega Coal Mine

In this newsletter:

1) Coal Boom Looms After Labor Government Approves Mega Coal Mine Down Under
7 News Australia, 13 June 2019
 
2) The World Returns To Coal
Graham Lloyd, The Australian, 13 June 2019

 
3) EU Governments To Miss 2030 Climate Targets
European Interest, 13 June 2019
 
4) EU Against Ramping Up Climate Targets
Reuters, 11 June 2019
 
5) Labour Considers 2030 Net-Zero Emissions Target (Let’s Hope They Do)
Financial Times, 14 June 2019 
 
6) And Finally: Hydrogen Station Explodes, Toyota Halts Sales Of Fuel Cell Cars — Is This The End?
Electrek, 11 June 2019

Full details:

1) Coal Boom Looms After Labor Government Approves Mega Coal Mine Down Under
7 News Australia, 13 June 2019

Adani has declared it’s full steam ahead for its controversial mega coal mine after the Queensland government issued the final approval needed to begin construction.

Queensland’s environment department has signed off on the plan to manage groundwater on and around Adani’s Galilee Basin mine site.

Adani chief executive Lucas Dow was “really excited” they could now begin the two-year construction period for the mine and rail.

“You could be thinking from today, in two years’ time, people should be expecting we have exported our first piece of coal,” he told reporters in Brisbane. […]

Mine opponents have reacted with fury, declaring the fight against the mine is not over.

Greens Senator for Queensland Larissa Waters accused the state Labor government of caving in to pressure from the coal lobby and donors.

Full story

2) The World Returns To Coal
Graham Lloyd, The Australian, 13 June 2019

Global coal production (up 4.3 per cent) and consumption (up 1.4 per cent) has increased at their fastest rate for five years.



Average global greenhouse gas emissions are rising at double the rate of Australia’s, exposing the mismatch between the “hope and reality” of meeting Paris Agreement goals, a report has found.

A major report by energy giant BP said the world was returning to coal, and without shale gas from the US and LNG exports from Australia the emissions reduction picture would be much worse.

Massive investments in renewable energy were needed but would not be enough to satisfy increasing demands for power, most notably in China and India.

BP said global emissions overall were up 2 per cent last year as the unexpected return to coal gathered pace.
The increase of 600 million tonnes of greenhouse gases from energy was greater than Australia’s total output.

Officials said the report confirmed Australia’s carbon dioxide emissions were “minuscule in absolute terms and lower (than the world average) in percentage terms as well”.

BP said last year’s global energy demand and carbon emissions from energy use had grown at its fastest rate since 2010-11…

Coal production (up 4.3 per cent) and consumption (up 1.4 per cent) had increased at their fastest rate for five years.

“This strength was concentrated in Asia, with India and China together accounting for the vast majority of the gains in both consumption and production,” the BP report said.

The growth in coal demand was the second consecutive year of increases following three years of falling consumption.

“As a result, the peak in global coal consumption which many had thought had occurred in 2013 now looks less certain. Another couple of years of increases close to that seen last year would take global consumption (of coal) comfortably above 2013 levels,” the BP report said.

Full story

3) EU Governments To Miss 2030 Climate Targets
European Interest, 13 June 2019

A new climate ranking shows that EU governments’ plans to cut pollution from transport, Europe’s biggest emitter, will fail to meet their own 2030 emissions targets. 

Only the top 3, the Netherlands, the UK and Spain, scored above 50% in the ranking of draft national energy and climate plans compiled by Transport & Environment (T&E).

Europe’s largest economy, Germany, is 15th, setting itself up to pay billions of euro to other countries for missing the EU’s 2030 emissions goals. All countries need to implement far more effective policies to reduce transport emissions than have been proposed to date.

The Netherlands has pledged that no fossil fuel cars will be sold there by 2030 and to reduce overall transport emissions by 29% compared to 2005 levels. However, its No 1 ranking is contingent on a draft national climate agreement which the government has already said it will weaken.

The UK and Spain have similar plans to ban fossil fuel cars by 2040, far too late to decarbonise the vehicle fleet by 2050. Britain also leaves the door open for hybrids, and both the UK and Spanish pledges are non-binding.

Full story

4) EU's Juncker Against Ramping Up Climate Targets
Reuters, 11 June 2019

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The outgoing European Union chief executive said on Tuesday the bloc should focus on meeting its 2030 existing targets before ramping up long-term climate ambitions.

Nine of the bloc’s 28 nations have called for the EU to set a target to go carbon neutral by 2050, which would mean steeper emissions cuts for industry by 2030 than existing commitments, under the 2015 Paris climate accord.

“We should focus and concentrate on 2030,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said at a Politico event. “To fix new goals again and again doesn’t make sense. Let’s focus on delivering what we already agreed.”

Brussels is due this month to publish its assessment of each member state’s plans to reach the bloc’s overall goal of cutting global warming emissions by 40% by 2030, with some countries expected to fall short.

Full story

5) Labour Considers 2030 Net-Zero Emissions Target (Let’s Hope They Do)
Financial Times, 14 June 2019 

A Labour government would introduce an earlier net-zero carbon emissions deadline than the current 2050 target under plans being considered by the party leadership, according to shadow chancellor John McDonnell.



In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr McDonnell said he was talking to experts about whether it would be possible to hit the target as early as 2030, as demanded by many left-wing activists.

Theresa May on Wednesday sought Parliament’s assent to legislate for the 2050 target, as recommended by the official Committee on Climate Change.

“Net zero” means that any greenhouse gas emissions would be balanced by schemes to offset carbon from the atmosphere, such as planting trees or using carbon capture and storage schemes.

The 2050 target was the subject of a political row last week when Philip Hammond, chancellor, said that fulfilling the pledge would cost £1tn and lead to public spending cuts, a claim rejected by Downing Street.

Now Labour is under pressure from activists to adopt a much tougher target than the Conservative government.

Full story 

see also … Climate Hysteria Cost Labor Australian Elections

6) And Finally: Hydrogen Station Explodes, Toyota Halts Sales Of Fuel Cell Cars — Is This The End?
Electrek, 11 June 2019

A hydrogen refueling station exploded in Norway on Monday and the company operating the station has suspended operation at its other locations following the explosion.



Now, Toyota and Hyundai are both halting sales of fuel cell vehicles in the country.

Does this spell the end of fuel cell hydrogen vehicles as a “zero-emission” alternative?

The Uno-X hydrogen station in Sandvika in Bærum exploded on Monday and resulted in two injuries in a nearby non-fuel cell vehicle.

According to the police, the explosion was strong enough that it activated the airbags in the vehicle without any impact.

The cause of the explosion is currently unknown and the rest of the refueling network is being shut down.
Jon André Løkke, CEO of Nel Hydrogen, the company operating those hydrogen refueling stations, commented:

“It is too early to speculate on the cause and what has gone wrong. Our top priority is the safe operation of the stations we have delivered. As a precaution, we have temporarily put ten other stations in standby mode in anticipation of more information.”

With the refueling network crippled, Toyota and Hyundai have announced that they are temporarily halting sales of fuel cell vehicles.

Full story

The London-based Global Warming Policy Forum is a world leading think tank on global warming policy issues. The GWPF newsletter is prepared by Director Dr Benny Peiser - for more information, please visit the website at www.thegwpf.com.