Story at a glance
- Coal-fired electricity generation fell by 3 percent in 2019, leading to a 2 percent drop in carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector.
- Coal generation fell by 24 percent in Europe due to a switch to renewables, while the United States saw a 16 percent decline due to a switch to gas.
- China continued to see an increase in coal generation and for the first time is responsible for half of the world’s coal generation.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the global power sector saw its biggest drop in nearly 30 years as power generated from coal plants fell, according to a new study.
The report from independent climate think tank Ember said global coal-fired electricity generation fell by 3 percent in 2019, leading to a 2 percent drop in carbon dioxide emissions from the global power sector. The drops are the largest since at least 1990.
The study notes the decrease comes as the United States and Europe shift away from coal power. Coal generation collapsed by 24 percent in Europe last year due to a transition to renewables like wind and solar, while coal-fired generation in the U.S. dropped 16 percent due to a switch to gas.
The decline in coal and shift to renewables was bolstered by cheap gas, as well as nuclear plant restarts in Japan and South Korea that slowed demand for coal.
As power from coal saw a drop, China’s reliance on coal plants climbed for another year and was for the first time responsible for half of global coal generation.
“The global decline of coal and power sector emissions is good news for the climate, but governments have to dramatically accelerate the electricity transition so that global coal generation collapses throughout the 2020s,” Dave Jones, lead author of the report and electricity analyst at Ember, said according to Reuters.
“To switch from coal into gas is just swapping one fossil fuel for another.”
Researchers advised that falling coal generation is not yet the “new normal.” Meaning that limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the goal outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement, is looking “extremely difficult.” Coal generation needs to drop by 11 percent a year to meet the 1.5 degree Celsius mark.
Wind and solar power generation increased by 15 percent last year. That rate of growth would need to continue every year to clear the climate goals laid out in the Paris accord. The study analyzed data from 85 percent of the world’s electricity generation and informed estimates of the remaining 15 percent.
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