Germany, one of the countries that constantly preaches the global warming doctrine and insists the rest of the world do as it says, is increasing its reliance on coal and gas plants. This is because it has put the closure of all its nuclear reactors on the fast track since the Fukushima accident. The German government will use climate fund cash to build coal and natural gas plants. As Ryan Maue says, “You can’t make this stuff up.” (1)
At least the Germans are smart enough to know that you need real sources of electricity for all the times when the windmills don’t work because the wind doesn’t blow and the solar panels are down because it’s cloudy or nighttime.
Edgar L. Gardner writes, “This confirms what independent specialists have been predicting since the ‘energy revolution’ was announced by Chancellor Angela Merkel: Instead of the rise of the promised ‘Age of Renewable Energies’, the nuclear phase out will lead to a renaissance of coal and (to a small extent) natural gas.” (2)
Worldwide, coal consumption has increased by almost 50% over the last ten years alone. Such a rash increase has never been seen before. China and India alone account for 90 percent of this increase. Coals’ share of global energy generation has almost reached 30% and is now at 1970 levels. At 42.8%, almost half of the world’s coal consumption is by China. And if that isn’t high enough, plans by China’s leadership provide for a coal power expansion of 600 gigawatts by the year 2035. Also, in western countries, coal consumption increased in the year 2010 by 5.2%, the most since 1979. (2)
All this while US coal consumption has been largely flat the past 10 years.
For China alone, projections put this country’s emissions in 2030 in the range of 500% above 1990 levels. Globally, this translates to about 40% of all new energy-related CO2 emissions between now and 2030. If China’s emissions continue to grow at the rate of 10% per year, by the year 2040, it could be emitting as much CO2 as the entire world is today. (3)
Roger Pielke, Jr., poses this scenario, “If the US stopped using coal today how many years would need to pass before the rest of the world replaced the lost consumption from the US? Answer- Based on current trends and using a conservative 4% annual growth rate in global consumption (when in truth it is currently 4.7-5.0%), the projection is that the world could replace 100% of lost US demand in 5 years.” (4)
All of this supports what Fareed Zakaria has said, “You can put in all those curly light bulbs and drive all the Priuses you want; India just ate that for breakfast and China will eat the next round of conservation for lunch.” (5)
References
Ryan Maue, “Germany to shovel climate fund dollars into coal plants,” wattsupwithhat.com, July 13, 2011
P. Gosselin, “It’s the dawn of life-saving coal: 2010 consumption jumped 5.2%--most since 1979, notrickszone.com, October 7, 2011
China Environment Series, Issue 11, 2010/2011, Jennifer L. Turner, Editor, Woodrow Wilson International School for Scholars, Page 8
Roger Pielke, Jr., “Reality Check,” rogerpielkejr.blogspot.com, May 4, 2010
Fareed Zakaria, The Post-American World, (New York, W. W. Norton & Co., 2008), 90
Jack Dini is author of Challenging Environmental Mythology. He has also written for American Council on Science and Health, Environment & Climate News, and Hawaii Reporter.
