Sustainability Context

At a time when the US is on the verge of imposing a moratorium on coal, Europe has plans for adding up to 50 new coal-fired power plants. In contrast to scientists who say there is an urgent need to drastically cut our reductions, coal is making a comeback. Does this mean, greenhouse gas levels will continue to rise or are there other alternatives out there?

In an article in the New York Times, coal plants are being built in Germany, the UK, the Czech Republic, and Italy, which already pays the highest cost in electricity. The author says:

"Over the next five years, Italy will increase its reliance on coal to 33 percent from 14 percent. Power generated by Enel from coal will rise to 50 percent.

And Italy is not alone in its return to coal. Driven by rising demand, record high oil and natural gas prices, concerns over energy security and an aversion to nuclear energy, European countries are expected to put into operation about 50 coal-fired plants over the next five years, plants that will be in use for the next five decades."

In contrast to an image of a Europe that is eco-conscious, these trends are driven by economics and energy security. Oil and natural gas prices reaching record levels, and so the only economical option is to turn to coal. At the same time, natural gas comes from Russia and could be affected by instabilities in the Russian government.

This seems contradictory to perceptions that Europe is ahead of the US when it comes to the climate change. Germany has put enormous resources into building up a solar and wind industry. France has many nuclear power plants, which has arguably contributed to lower emissions.

And yet one would think that Europe can continue these trends toward lower emissions but the limitations in squeezing out efficiency and deploying renewables suggest that either energy supplies coming from coal or nuclear are needed for the economy.

Large scale carbon capturing of emissions from coal fired plants have not yet been demonstrated to be successful. And so it may be time to reconsider nuclear power. While the risks of nuclear power are real, it may be one of the options needed to attain drastic reductions in GHG emissions without severely slowing down economic growth.

The debate in the US continues as the government has recently authorized the construction of nuclear power. As unpleasant as it may sound to many environmentalists, a similar public discussion in Japan is needed to better understand the costs and benefits of this source of energy.