Current trends in energy supply and use are clearly unsustainable

30 Jun 2009

It was the biannual gathering of over 100,000 Protestants in Bremen, a small town in Germany. As the articulate minister for environment, Sigmar Gabriel, came to participate in a discussion on energy security for a climate-secure world, many stood up. Soon the hall was full of blue placards, held high, all saying: “No to coal.” The minister, I could see, was riled.

Two of the nation

Technology to capture carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants and store them underground will be ready by 2015 and could be in wide use in the United States by 2020, according to the top executive at American Electric Power Co Inc.

Australia's government will spend A$4.5 billion (US$3.4 billion) in partnership with private investors to build up to eight commercial power stations testing clean coal and solar technologies, Treasurer Wayne Swan said on Tuesday.

The Canadian government plans new regulations that will effectively phase out traditional coal-fired power stations, Environment Minister Jim Prentice said in an interview published on Wednesday.

He told the Globe and Mail newspaper that new coal plants would have to include technology to capture greenhouse gas emissions and inject them underground for permanent storage.

China must swiftly decouple its rapid economic growth from rising carbon dioxide emissions for global greenhouse gas levels to stay manageable, the authors of a new study said, urging sweeping support to help that transition.

Britain unveiled 1.4 billion pounds ($2.04 billion) of initiatives to encourage investment in green energy on Wednesday and also gave tax breaks to help squeeze the remaining oil from the declining North Sea.

Use of algae and methanol for rapid carbon recycling is gaining popularity among power producers.

As glaciers and rivers threaten to disappear, Indian coal-based power plants may have to look at algae and methanol for rapid carbon recycling.

This report highlights a number of key findings from the scenario analysis which are intended to inform policy making both within China, and in international negotiations. These key findings include: Decoupling carbon emissions growth from economic development is challenging but achievable in China, and there is more than one way to achieve it.

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