Switch to gas cuts quarter of power station emissions
BRITAIN has cut its power station carbon emissions by a quarter in only 12 months, the equivalent of taking one in three cars off the road, analysis shows.
Scientists have welcomed the “significant” step towards decarbonisation, which was achieved by switching away from coal in favour of natural gas. The 25 per cent drop is the steepest ever recorded.
The 2016 data from Imperial College London reveals that the switch affords the UK more time than previously thought before a conversion to renewables becomes essential.
Natural gas, which has become cheaper than coal thanks to government policy, emits roughly half the carbon dioxide of coal when burnt.
Britain has switched off many of its older coal-burning power plants in recent years and will increasingly rely on renewable sources of energy such as land-based and offshore wind farms.
However, the study illustrates that substantial progress in reducing emissions can be made just by prioritising the existing infrastructure.
The authors of the research, published in the journal Nature Energy, calculated that if the other main coalconsuming countries mirrored Britain’s approach it would slash global emissions by roughly a gigatonne (approximately 3 per cent) every year.
Dr Iain Staffell, from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial, said: “Switching from coal to gas is not a long-term solution, but it is an important step to start reducing emissions quickly and at minimal cost.
“This will give us time to build up the required renewable energy capacity to permanently cut global carbon emissions.”
The UK’S carbon pricing structure is becoming increasingly stringent on producers of dirty energy, making it more profitable for power companies to use natural gas than coal. The policy is part a commitment to become the first country in the world to transition completely from coal generation by 2025, which is part of a wider international effort, formalised in the 2015 Paris climate agreement to keep global temperature rises at less than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
Report contributor Dr Grant Wilson, from the University of Sheffield, said: “Having a longer-term view, it is likely to prove vastly cheaper not to emit a tonne of CO2 into the atmosphere over the near-term, rather than to have to take it back out of the atmosphere after 2050. “This is especially the case if the infrastructure has already been built but is under-utilised. This report suggests that the option of fuel switching in the power sector deserves greater consideration to reduce emissions.”
Several countries in Europe have also committed to phasing out coal in the next 10 years, including France, Italy, Sweden and Austria. The report found they all have the technical potential to swap coal with existing gas power stations.
‘This will give us time to build up the required renewable energy capacity to permanently cut global carbon emissions’