Latin America On The Path To A Coal-Free Era: Opportunities And Challenges

Written by Paulo Nogueira

Published on 06/04/2023 at 11:20

Fonte: Rio Grande do Sul é responsável por cerca de 90% das reservas do mineral encontradas em todo o Brasil FREDY VIEIRA/FREDY VIEIRA/JC

Be the first to react!

Brazil, The Last Latin American Country With Coal Projects

The 9th annual Boom and Bust report from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) warns that Brazil is the last country in Latin America with active coal projects.

The country has a unique opportunity to become a “coal-free” nation by discontinuing these ventures and planning the closure of the few existing plants. These plants provide a minimal amount of energy and consume billions in annual subsidies, a cost shared among all consumers in the country.

Opportunity for Leadership in the Fight Against Climate Change

Gregor Clark, manager of the Energy Portal for Latin America at GEM, emphasizes the opportunity Brazil has to lead the fight against climate change by canceling the development of new coal plants.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Necessary Reduction in Coal Energy Capacity

Globally, the report indicates that to achieve the climate goal of phasing out coal by 2040, it is necessary to reduce average coal energy capacity by approximately 117 GW per year, a pace at least 4.5 times faster than the current rate.

Additionally, it highlights the importance of canceling any new coal projects worldwide.

In 2022, operational coal capacity increased by 19.5 GW, or less than 1%. More than half (59%) of the 45.5 GW of new capacity commissioned was in China, with a total of 14 countries adding new coal plants. Excluding China, coal continued to decline, although at a slower pace than in previous years.

Latin America Moving Towards a Coal-Free Era: Opportunities and Challenges

Including pre-construction and construction phases, it has remained relatively stable since 2019, after a significant drop from the highs of 2014. The number hit a record low of 479 GW in 2021 but rebounded to 537 GW in 2022, a 12% year-on-year increase led by China.

Although the European Union retired a record 14.6 GW of coal capacity in 2021, the gas crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine slowed this trend, with only 2.2 GW retired in the last year. However, temporary restarts and emergency extensions are expected to be phased out in the coming years.

The United States led coal retirements with 13.5 GW retired in 2022.

Latin America On The Path To A Coal-Free Era: Opportunities And Challenges

Brazil, The Last Latin American Country With Coal Projects

Opportunity for Leadership in the Fight Against Climate Change

Necessary Reduction in Coal Energy Capacity

Latin America Moving Towards a Coal-Free Era: Opportunities and Challenges

While an average building in London or New York takes three years to be completed, in China a 26-story tower went up in five days with about 100 workers, and the global modular construction market already moves US$ 95 billion per year.

Australia installs giant concrete structures on the seabed 800 meters from the shore to create an ocean intake for desalination that will draw in saltwater and produce 30 million liters of drinking water per day.

While a traditional school may take several days just to raise walls, in Malawi a 3D-printed school had its structure ready in 18 hours, welcomed children in June, and showed a new solution to the lack of classrooms.

Goodbye traditional washing machine: Panasonic surprises housewives with the NA-G5 featuring four drums, a 13 kg washer and dryer, a 12 kg dryer, independent mini washers, a heat pump, and a 4-in-1 system awarded at the German Design Award.

Material once seen as a poor man’s choice returns as a climate bet, with red clay replacing part of the gray concrete in modern buildings, hospitals, houses, and a cultural center that transforms tradition into a solution against urban heat.

American company deploys humanoid robots to work live for 8 hours and surprises by showing machines handling packages at an almost human pace while accelerating production on a global industrial scale

Nursing technician looks for a job and discovers an absurd error in the digital employment record: for 24 years she was registered as “President of the Republic”

Volkswagen breaks its own rule in China and launches the ID. Era 5S plug-in hybrid with a 2,000 km range to shake up the electric market.

Seen from space as a frozen blue island in the South Atlantic, iceberg A23a became the “queen of icebergs” after being stuck for almost 40 years, weighing almost 1 trillion tons, and now losing 80% of its mass while releasing giant blocks in the final phase of disintegration.

Q-Day is coming: the quantum threat that can unlock passwords, banks, cryptocurrencies, medical data, and turn internet security upside down

Latin America On The Path To A Coal-Free Era: Opportunities And Challenges

Brazil, The Last Latin American Country With Coal Projects

Opportunity for Leadership in the Fight Against Climate Change

Necessary Reduction in Coal Energy Capacity

Latin America Moving Towards a Coal-Free Era: Opportunities and Challenges

While an average building in London or New York takes three years to be completed, in China a 26-story tower went up in five days with about 100 workers, and the global modular construction market already moves US$ 95 billion per year.

Australia installs giant concrete structures on the seabed 800 meters from the shore to create an ocean intake for desalination that will draw in saltwater and produce 30 million liters of drinking water per day.

While a traditional school may take several days just to raise walls, in Malawi a 3D-printed school had its structure ready in 18 hours, welcomed children in June, and showed a new solution to the lack of classrooms.

Goodbye traditional washing machine: Panasonic surprises housewives with the NA-G5 featuring four drums, a 13 kg washer and dryer, a 12 kg dryer, independent mini washers, a heat pump, and a 4-in-1 system awarded at the German Design Award.

Material once seen as a poor man’s choice returns as a climate bet, with red clay replacing part of the gray concrete in modern buildings, hospitals, houses, and a cultural center that transforms tradition into a solution against urban heat.

American company deploys humanoid robots to work live for 8 hours and surprises by showing machines handling packages at an almost human pace while accelerating production on a global industrial scale

While many hydroelectric plants are concentrated at a single point, in Georgia a 271-meter dam pushes water for 15 km to a plant in politically divided territory.

While gold mining usually leaves contamination and waste behind, in Suriname this residue is being tested in cement bricks for construction.

In southern Iraq, a structure made solely from marsh plants creates arched halls, dispensing with wood and steel, and showcases an ancient engineering that still challenges modern architecture.

While traditional construction consumes enormous amounts of energy and cement, a new material created by scientists uses an enzyme to transform CO₂ into solid minerals, hardens in hours, and could revolutionize civil construction.

Gold, silver, and copper appear near the surface at Filo Sur, making mining companies look at San Juan as a new treasure map in the Andes.

Nursing technician looks for a job and discovers an absurd error in the digital employment record: for 24 years she was registered as “President of the Republic”

Volkswagen breaks its own rule in China and launches the ID. Era 5S plug-in hybrid with a 2,000 km range to shake up the electric market.

Seen from space as a frozen blue island in the South Atlantic, iceberg A23a became the “queen of icebergs” after being stuck for almost 40 years, weighing almost 1 trillion tons, and now losing 80% of its mass while releasing giant blocks in the final phase of disintegration.

Q-Day is coming: the quantum threat that can unlock passwords, banks, cryptocurrencies, medical data, and turn internet security upside down