Germany to close all 84 of its coal-fired power plants, will rely primarily on renewable energy

Germany, one of the world’s biggest consumers of coal, will shut down all 84 of its coal-fired power plants over the next 19 years to meet its international commitments in the fight against climate change, a government commission said Saturday.

In this Jan.6, 2019, file photo water vapor rises from the
cooling towers of the Joenschwalde lignite-fired power
plant of Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG in Brandenburg, Germany.

The announcement marked a significant shift for Europe’s largest country — a nation that had long been a leader on cutting CO2 emissions before turning into a laggard in recent years and badly missing its reduction targets. Coal plants account for 40% of Germany’s electricity, itself a reduction from recent years when coal-dominated power production.

“This is an historic accomplishment,” said Ronald Pofalla, chairman of the 28-member government commission, at a news conference in Berlin following a marathon 21-hour negotiating session that concluded at 6 a.m. Saturday. The breakthrough ended seven months of wrangling. “It was anything but a sure thing. But we did it,” Pofalla said. “There won’t be any more coal-burning plants in Germany by 2038.”

Read the story from The Los Angeles Times by Erik Kirschbaum - “Germany to close all 84 of its coal-fired power plants, will rely primarily on renewable energy.”

Australia’s carbon pollution soars, government data shows

Australia's greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, making the task of future pollution cuts to meet international commitments more difficult, the latest data for the government show.

La Trobe Valley's Loy Yang coal-fired power
station is among the country's biggest polluters.

On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, emissions rose 1.6 per cent in the March quarter, the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory shows. The Environment Department confirmed the quarterly increase was the biggest in nine years.

On an annual basis, the country's emissions reached 550.4 million tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent, excluding land use changes such as land clearing. That tally was up 1 per cent from a year earlier.

For the March quarter alone, the 138.3 million tonnes - again excluding land use changes - was the most for any quarter since at least 2001-02. If land clearing is taken into account, the total is the most since September 2005.

Read Peter Hannam’s story in The Sydney Morning Herald - “Australia’s carbon pollution soars, government data shows.”

Carbon abatement helping farmers but not doing much for emissions

As the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) runs out of money for carbon farming offsets, Australia is falling short of international commitments.

Under carbon farming, Fairlight Station
can get carbon credits worth millions.

The Emissions Reduction Fund is the centrepiece of the Coalition Government's direct action policy, paying landholders to sequester carbon through revegetation, changed agricultural practices, and savanna burning.

For $2.1 billion, it has bought 180 million tonnes worth of emission abatements over a 10-20 year period, at an average price of $11/tonne carbon dioxide.

The fifth auction, with $440 million to spend on carbon credits, will be announced on April 13.

The Climate Institute has supported the ERF for helping landholders manage their activities, but argues it is largely ineffectual in reducing overall emissions.

Read the ABC Rural story - “Carbon abatement helping farmers but not doing much for emissions.”

What Lies Beneath - George Monbiot

George Monbiot.

Do they understand what they have signed? Plainly they do not. Governments like ours, now ratifying the Paris agreement on climate change, haven’t the faintest idea what it means. Either that, or they have no intention of honouring it.

For the first time, we can see the numbers on which the agreement depends, and their logic is inescapable. Governments can either meet their international commitments or allow the prospecting and development of new fossil fuel reserves. They cannot do both.

The Paris agreement, struck by 200 nations in December, pledged to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels”, and aspired to limit it to 1.5°. So what does this mean? Thanks to a report by Oil Change International, we can now answer this question with a degree of precision.

Read this latest piece by Guardian columnist George Monbiot - “What Lies Beneath.”