A worldwide analysis of stranded fossil fuel assets' impact on power plants' CO2 emissions
Contact us if these videos are not relevant.
Contact us if these videos are not relevant.
View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.Power plants emitted more carbon dioxide (CO2) in countries with fossil fuel assets at risk from climate policies. This increases the risk of exceeding global carbon budgets, particularly in the U.S. and Russia.
Area Of Science
- Climate Science
- Environmental Economics
- Energy Policy
Background
- Climate policies aim to reduce carbon emissions by devaluing fossil fuel reserves.
- The impact of potential fossil fuel stranding on power plant emissions remains under-researched.
Purpose Of The Study
- To investigate whether power plants emit more CO2 in anticipation of climate policies that threaten fossil fuel assets.
- To quantify the effect of stranded asset risk on global CO2 emissions from power plants.
Main Methods
- Utilized a global dataset of individual power plant CO2 emissions (2009-2018).
- Correlated emissions data with the value of countries' at-risk fossil fuel assets under a 1.5°C warming scenario.
Main Results
- Power plants emitted more CO2 in countries with higher values of at-risk fossil fuel assets.
- This effect is theorized to stem from regulatory leniency and long-term fossil fuel contracts.
- The additional annual CO2 emissions, while seemingly small, significantly deplete the electricity sector's carbon budget over time.
Conclusions
- Anticipation of climate policies may paradoxically increase CO2 emissions from power plants due to stranded asset risks.
- The U.S. and Russia face significant carbon budget depletion (up to 16% and 12% respectively within a decade) due to this effect.
- Urgent policy interventions are needed to align power plant operations with climate goals and prevent budget overruns.
Contact us if these videos are not relevant.
Contact us if these videos are not relevant.
Related Concept Videos
Carbon is the basis of all organic matter on Earth, and is recycled through the ecosystem in two primary processes: one in which carbon is exchanged among living organisms, and one in which carbon is cycled over long periods of time through fossilized organic remains, weathering of rocks, and volcanic activity. Human activities, including increased agricultural practices and the burning of fossil fuels, has greatly affected the balance of the natural carbon cycle.
Biological Carbon Cycle
All...
Triglycerides are a form of long-term energy storage molecules. They are made of glycerol and three fatty acids. To obtain energy from fat, triglycerides must first be broken down by hydrolysis into their two principal components, fatty acids and glycerol. This process, called lipolysis, takes place in the cytoplasm. The resulting fatty acids are oxidized by β-oxidation into acetyl-CoA, which is used by the Krebs cycle. The glycerol that is released from triglycerides after lipolysis...
The fossil record documents only a small fraction of all organisms that have ever inhabited Earth. Fossilization is a rare process, and most organisms never become fossils. Moreover, the fossil record only exhibits fossils that have been discovered. Nevertheless, sedimentary rock fossils of long-lived, abundant, hard-bodied organisms dominate the fossil record. These fossils offer valuable information, such as an organism's physical form, behavior, and age. Studying the fossil record helps...
The low reactivity in alkanes can be attributed to the non-polar nature of C–C and C–H σ bonds. Alkanes, therefore, were initially termed as “paraffins,” derived from the Latin words: parum, meaning “too little,” and affinis, meaning “affinity.”
Alkanes undergo combustion in the presence of excess oxygen and high-temperature conditions to give carbon dioxide and water. A combustion reaction is the energy source in natural gas, liquified...
The power transmission to a factory involves the transfer of apparent power, a combination of active and reactive power. The power factor measures how effectively electrical power is converted into useful work output. The ratio of the real power (KW) that does the work to the apparent power (KVA) supplied to the circuit.
A poor power factor means the inductive electrical load absorbs more reactive power, causing a low lagging power factor. This results in large voltage drops across the load...
Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global temperatures is well outside of the Earth’s cyclic norms, and evidence for human-caused global climate change is compelling. Paleoclimatology, the study of ancient climate conditions, provides ample evidence for human-caused global climate change by comparing recent conditions with those in the past.
Past Periods of Warming and Cooling
In...