Coal: Is the end nigh?

Coal, natural gas and mineral oil are known as fossil fuels, also mineral resource. It is formed through long decomposition of plants and animals in air or oxygen free environment. The world’s fossil resources include coal (70 per cent), natural gas (14 per cent) and oil (14 per cent). Fossil fuel is not available in all countries. Other countries depend on those countries where it is available.

In very ancient times there were many trees in the world. Due to various natural disasters and environmental changes plants were dumped underground. As a consequence of chemical change trees, leaves and stems turned into coal millions of years ago, probably before the dinosaur era. Tremendous pressure and heat underground creates natural gas. It is also available from petroleum wells. Its main component is methane, amounting to 80 per cent-90 per cent. Billions of years ago plants and marine animals dumped inside layers of rocks has been transformed into mineral oil.

Up to the 19th century coal was the most widely used and important commercial source of energy. After the discovery of petroleum the use of coal has decreased a bit though coal is the world’s largest source of energy for power generation. The United States has the largest (1/4th) coal reserves in the world followed by Russia, China, Australia and India. It is extracted from mines but along the passage of time this very important material has become a major concern for environmentalists and scientists because it plays a major role in global warming. The use of coal for various purposes including power generation is causing massive carbon emissions resulting in the rise of temperature. Environment is being drastically hampered.

Environmentalists, climate experts and scientists apprehend that global temperatures may rise by 2 degrees Celsius by the end of this century, more than the temperature before the industrial revolution in 1760 AD. If that happens it would be impossible to save the earth. Temperature has already risen by 1.2 degrees Celsius compared to the time before industrial revolution.

At the Paris Climate Conference in 2015, 195 countries agreed to limit temperature rise within 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030 and to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2050. But so far expected results have not been achieved. The COP-26 emphasised collective commitment to stop the use of fossil fuels, particularly to stop investment in coal-based projects.

Although global coal consumption is lower than ever before, 37 per cent to 40 per cent of the world’s electricity is produced from coal. Most of the carbon dioxide in the earth’s air is coming from China, the United States, India, Russia, Germany, Italy and Poland. Due to dependence on coal China emits 11,535 megatonnes i.e. 1/4th of the world’s total carbon dioxide emission every year followed by the United States (5,107 megatonnes), the European Union (3,304 megatonnes), India (2,597 megatonnes) and Russia (1,792 megatonnes).

However, many countries have formulated their own programmes on this issue. More than 40 countries including Poland, Vietnam and Chile have pledged to refrain from using coal in the near future. China, the United States, India and Australia, the world’s largest coal users, have not signed the paper of commitment. However, these countries have declared to become carbon-neutral by 2060 (China). 2050 (the United States), 2070 (India), 2050 (The European Union) and 2060 (Russia).

From 2026 onwards China will reduce dependence on coal. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that his country would no longer finance coal-fired projects outside the country. China has also progressed in developing renewable energy. 1/3rd of the world’s solar power is generated in China which is also the world’s top producer of wind power.

US President Joe Biden said that the United States had adopted a 1.5 trillion dollar clean electricity programme as reward for the companies that will discard fossil fuel. He said that carbon emission in the United States has been declining during the last decade. So far fossil fuel was the source of more than 80 per cent of energy in the United States. By 2030 the United States will curtail carbon dioxide by half of its 2005 level. By 2030 half of all new cars in the United States will be electric cars.

The EU including Germany, Italy and Poland have set a target of generating 40 per cent of their energy from renewable sources by 2030. India will reduce its carbon emission by 33per cent-35 per cent by 2030. During this time 40 per cent of its electricity will come from non-fossil fuels. Russia has promised to reduce its carbon emission by 30 per cent by 2030.

Plants absorb a huge amount of carbon dioxide and maintain the balance of environment and deforestation accelerates the decay of environment. Keeping this in mind 130 countries including Brazil, Congo and Indonesia signed a paper of commitment to prevent deforestation and create new forests. These three countries cover 90 per cent of the world’s forests. The paper of commitment has pledged to provide a fund of $1.9 billion to protect forest but it is surprising that Bangladesh and India have not signed the paper of commitment to stop deforestation.

Among all greenhouse gases methane is next to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere More than 100 countries have agreed to reduce methane emission by 30 per cent by 2030. According to a report in the Nature, a science journal, environmentalists and scientists have called this initiative a good start because it will reduce the rise in temperature by 0.5 degree Celsius by 2100 just through reducing the emission of methane gas.

India has announced maximum time limit 2070 for closing the use of coal i.e. coal will no longer be used after 2070. Environmentalists have also described this declaration as positive. This is a big indication that days of coal are going to end ultimately.

The writer is a former Commissioner of Taxes. He can be contacted at chinmayprasunbiswas@yahoo.com