News Archive Article

China to surpass U.S. in CO2 utility emissions

CHINA - Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by Chinese power plants are expected to surpass U.S. utilities' emissions of the main greenhouse gas by 2017, according to the Center for Global Development.

U.S. utilities spew out some 2.8 billion tons of CO2 annually while Chinese power plants are emitting 2.7 billion tons a year, according to the CGD study. The survey ranked individual power plants in different countries according to their CO2 emissions.

"Globally, power generation emits nearly 10 billion tons of CO2 per year. The U.S. with over 8,000 power plants out of more than 50,000 worldwide, accounts for about 25% of that total," the survey found.

The report claimed that the biggest U.S. CO2 emitter is Southern Co. whose power plants belch out 172 million tons of the principal greenhouse gas annually, followed by American Electric Power Company Inc., Duke Energy Corp., and AES Corp. The state with the biggest CO2 emissions from electricity generation is Texas which accounts for 290 million tons of emissions, followed by Florida (157 million tons) and Indiana (137 million tons).

China's largest emitter is Huaneng Power International that accounts for 292 million tons of CO2 emissions.

Researchers said U.S. emissions were high partly due to high living standards, but also differences in energy policy.

"Europeans, with comparable living standards, emit less than half the power sector CO2 of the average American," said CGD president Nancy Birdsall.

Related News

china coal station

Only one in 10 utility firms prioritise renewable electricity – global study

LONDON - Only one in 10 of the world’s electric utility companies are prioritising investment in clean renewable energy over growing their capacity of fossil fuel power plants, according to research from the University of Oxford.

The study of more than 3,000 utilities found most remain heavily invested in fossil fuels despite international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and some are actively expanding their portfolio of polluting power plants.

The majority of the utility companies, many of which are state owned, have made little change to their generation portfolio in recent years.

Only 10% of the companies in the…

READ MORE
Alameda County Sheriff's deputy A. Gogna

Victims of California's mega-fire will sue electricity company

READ MORE

UK wind power

Green energy could drive Covid-19 recovery with $100tn boost

READ MORE

alberta-faces-challenges-with-solar-energy

Alberta Faces Challenges with Solar Energy Expansion

READ MORE

wind power

Renewable energy now cheapest option for new electricity in most of the world: Report

READ MORE