Asia-Pacific Coal Rush Worsens Global Warming - WWF
Date: 05-Sep-07
Country: AUSTRALIA
Author: Fayen Wong
Between 2001 and 2006, coal use around the world grew by an
unprecedented 30 percent. Asia, led by China, accounted for
almost 90 percent of the growth, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
said at the launch of a climate change report in Sydney.
"The Asia Pacific region is at a critical moment with
regard to coal use, and is grappling with the difficult
question of how to balance burgeoning energy needs with the
well-being of the planet and local communities," the WWF report
said.
Coal, the most abundant conventional fossil fuel, is
responsible for a quarter of the world's total carbon
emissions.
According to the International Energy Association, economic
growth in India and China will account for 70 percent of the
increase in global coal consumption by 2030, primarily in the
electricity and industrial sectors.
The WWF said coal related carbon emissions increased by 31
percent between 1990 and 2004. If left unchecked, global coal
related emissions will increase by 63 percent by 2030, compared
to required greenhouse gas reductions of about 50 percent by
2050 to keep climate change at manageable levels.
To avoid the dangerous environmental impact of climate
change, governments must reduce the use of fossil fuels and
ensure that new coal-fired power stations be equipped with low
or zero emissions using carbon capture and storage technology,
the report said.
The WWF also recommended that Asia-Pacific countries
increase the use of renewable energy, develop zero-emission
technologies and put a stop to large-scale deforestation.
Climate change is a major focus at the Asia Pacific
Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit in Sydney this week.
The WWF urged APEC countries, which account for about 60
percent of the world's economy, to set binding targets on
emission reductions in a post-2012 climate treaty.
The first phase of the UN Koyoto Protocol climate change
pact runs out in 2012 and there are growing diplomatic efforts
to find a formula that brings rich and developing nations
together to curb emissions growth of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases.
Scientists say time is running out to stop climate changes
caused by a build-up of these gases in the atmosphere.
Big polluters such as China, India, the United States and
Australia are firmly opposed to binding emissions cuts, saying
this will harm their economies.
Developing nations also want rich countries to agree to
deep cuts first, blaming the industrialised world for much of
the greenhouse gas pollution already in the air.
While no binding targets for greenhouse gas reductions are
expected to be agreed at the APEC summit, analysts say
officials might back a consensus on a replacement for Kyoto.