Committed emissions and the risk of stranded assets from power plants in Latin America and the Caribbean
| Autor: | Morgan Bazilian, Esperanza González-Mahecha, Adrien Vogt-Schilb, Oskar Lecuyer, Michelle Hallack |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Latin Americans
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Renewable Energy Sustainability and the Environment business.industry Natural resource economics Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Climate change 010501 environmental sciences Power sector 01 natural sciences Power (social and political) Electricity generation Greenhouse gas Business Electricity Hydropower 0105 earth and related environmental sciences General Environmental Science |
| Zdroj: | Environmental Research Letters. 14:124096 |
| ISSN: | 1748-9326 |
| DOI: | 10.1088/1748-9326/ab5476 |
| Popis: | Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has the least carbon-intensive electricity sector of any region in the world, as hydropower remains the largest source of electricity. But are current plans consistent with the international climate change goals laid out in the Paris Agreement? In this paper, we assess committed CO2 emissions from existing and planned power plants in LAC. Those are the carbon emissions that would result from the operation of fossil-fueled power plants during their typical lifetime. Committed emissions from existing power plants are close to 6.9 Gt of CO2. Building and operating all power plants that are announced, authorized, being procured, or under construction would result in 6.7 Gt of CO2 of additional commitments (for a total of 13.6 Gt of CO2). Committed emissions are above average IPCC assessments of cumulative emissions from power generation in LAC consistent with international temperature targets. To meet average carbon budgets from IPCC, 10%–16% of existing fossil-fueled power plants would need to be closed before the end of their technical lifespan. Our results suggest that building more fossil-fueled power plants in the region could jeopardize the achievement of the Paris Agreement temperature targets. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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