By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent
Here we are again, discussing the future of coal – this time as it relates to CO2 emissions and the fact that emissions have fallen in the United States. And as usual, President Trump finds himself in the middle trying to take credit.
So here is what’s really happening.
Despite having pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord, a report from the Environmental Protection Agency (as reported by Reuters) suggests that CO2 levels have fallen in the United States by 2.7% in 2017, even more than the 2% it fell in 2016.
Interim EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler took the opportunity to crow about how the extra 0.7% was the result of the excellent Trump policies on the environment. As he said in a press release:
“Thanks to President Trump’s regulatory reform agenda, the economy is booming, energy production is surging, and we are reducing greenhouse gas emissions from major industrial sources.”
Which is a nice narrative, particularly if you’re hellbent on removing all environmental protections as EPA administrator. But here’s where the story falls apart just a little bit.
As we (and every other solar publication) had reported, U.S. utilities have not slowed down their plans to close coal plants, and they are only accelerating those plans as the years move forward. In part, that’s because they can replace these fossil fuel plants with clean, renewable energy like solar and wind.
As Reuters susses out, that’s the real reason for the additional reductions in greenhouse gases:
While Wheeler gave the administration credit for the reductions, which mainly came from the power sector, the numbers also underscore that the administration has not been able to stop the rapid pace of coal plant shutdowns … Natural gas releases far less carbon dioxide when burned than coal and a domestic abundance of gas has driven a wave of closures of coal plants. In 2017 utilities shut or converted from coal-to-gas nearly 9,000 megawatts (MW) of coal plants.
Now, it’s important to note that an unexpected drop in carbon emissions from the United States is still a good thing, and kudos to the utilities who have already recognized that the age of fossil fuels is rapidly fading.
But it does stick in the craw a little bit when the administration that’s taking credit for it is still running around talking about “beautiful, clean coal” and other pro-coal nonsensical blather. Let’s give credit where credit is due and not where it is not.
(It should also be noted that the Trump administration, for all its crowing, may finally be recognizing the futility of keeping uneconomic coal plants open.)
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