Full Title: Low-Carbon Fuels: How to Use U.S. Infrastructure and Exports to Deliver Cleaner Energy to the World
Author(s): Steven R. Miles
Publisher(s): Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy
Publication Date: February 10, 2021
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
The world is demanding cleaner fuels. The U.S. is uniquely positioned to take the lead in providing them. Author Steven R. Miles explains.
As the incoming U.S. administration leads the United States back into the Paris Climate Accord, there can be little doubt that countries and their citizens around the world are demanding cleaner fuels, both for electric power generation and transportation. But the share of electric energy being produced by wind and solar is a small fraction of power consumption, and an even smaller percentage of energy used for transportation. Both the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the International Energy Agency forecast that other fuels will continue to be needed in the U.S. and worldwide for decades to come. But where will these fuels come from, and will they help or hinder the world in meeting the Paris climate goals? In the absence of cleaner alternatives available at scale now, some countries are doubling down on building more coal plants, which are locking in the dirtiest of fuels for years to come. China, which is powered mostly by coal, has nearly 250 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power plants now under construction or development, more than the entire existing coal power capacity of the United States. While this figure may change when China issues its 14th five-year plan (FYP) in early 2021, China is already moving ahead with new coal-fired power outside of China. As part of its Belt and Road Initiative, China is building or planning more than 300 coal plants outside of China, including in Turkey, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Egypt, and the Philippines.