Carbon emissions fall as electricity producers move away from coal

Carbon emissions generated by the electricity sector fell at the fastest rate in at least 30 years as countries turned their backs on coal, analysis suggests. Coal-fuelled electricity declined 3 per cent in 2019, leading to a 2 per cent fall in the power sector’s carbon dioxide emissions, according to a worldwide assessment by climate think tank Ember.

A new report on the world’s electricity generation revealed the steepest cut in carbon emissions since 1990 as the US and the EU turned to cleaner energy sources. The report from climate thinktank Ember, formerly Sandbag, warned that the dent in the world’s coal-fired electricity generation relied on many one-off factors, including milder winters across many countries.

Overall, power from coal plants fell by 3% last year, even as China’s reliance on coal plants climbed for another year to make up half the world’s coal generation for the first time. Coal generation in the US and Europe has halved since 2007, and last year collapsed by almost a quarter in the EU and by 16% in the US.

However, experts warn that these figures are unlikely to represent the beginning of a significant future trend in reducing coal-generated power. The statistics were generated by a report from climate think tank Ember, who, in their analysis, cautioned that one-off factors had led to a reduction in overall energy use last year, such as milder winters resulting in reduced energy requirements to warm homes and buildings.

While governments worldwide are making the switch from coal-powered energy to renewable-powered a priority, this conversion is not happening at rates fast enough to address climate change.

The EU has made the fastest progress towards replacing coal with wind and solar power, while the US has increased its reliance on gas following its shale boom in recent years.

The report also revealed demand for electricity slowed to 1.4 per cent last year, the slowest increase since the 2009 recession, due to low economic growth and a milder winter in the US and EU.

To meet the Paris climate goals, the world needs to record a compound growth rate of 15% for wind and solar generation every year – which will require “a colossal effort”, the report warned.