With the ink barely dry on Paris agreement, the debate about the future of fossil fuels begins

Julie Bishop told the Paris climate
conference that coal-fired power
generation is here to stay.

The ink is barely dry on the Paris climate agreement and the debate has already started on how the deal will affect the future of fossil fuels, particularly coal.

Following the deal on Sunday, the mining industry has responded that Australian coal will remain an important provider of affordable energy to developing countries. The industry argues new low emissions technologies will keep coal in business as the world cuts carbon.

Foreign minister Julie Bishop echoed the sentiment in Paris last week, stating “coal-fired power generation is here to stay.”

The agreement aims to limit global temperature rise to less than 2℃, with an aspiration of 1.5℃. So what is the future of coal in a world that meets these temperature limits?

Read the thoughts of a Conjoint Academic in Sustainability at the University of Newcastle, Gary Ellem, on The Conversation - “After Paris, the future of Australian coal is downhill.”