A lot of the problem competing with China in heavy industry is they use a lot of coal for electricity generation vs. places like the US that use cleaner but more expensive natural gas China also has a government policy to subsidize industry through energy pricing schemes.
If the west insisted China maintain similar environmental rules, western industry would have been a lot more competitive.
Natural gas: 290-930 g CO2e/kWh
Coal: 740-1689 g CO2e/kWh.
So coal is twice as bad on CO2 per kW compared to natural gas. Apart from poluting way more in particles and heavy metals, that cause cancer and respiratory diseases.
Repeat after me: “Coal is so BAD basically EVERYTHING else is better.”
Now try to remember it too.
The expansion of electricity in UK is based on Nuclear and wind turbines. So even if you compare heat generated by electricity compared to heat generated directly from coal. Electricity comes out ahead. And as the sources are moved more and more towards renewables, this will only get better over time.
Yes, but natural gas is a more potent greenhouse gas than co2 and there are continuous natural gas leaks. All the CO2 savings (vs coal) from each KwH of burned natural gas is completely negated by all the leaks on the way to the consumer. Note that most oil companies are very bad at reporting leaks, we basically have to measure them manually from satellites to know about them.
Never said electrification was a bad thing, just natural gas. Instead of building new natural gas plants and patting ourselves on the back for it not being coal, we should just build more renewables.
There is good evidence that natural gas infrastructure is so leaky that it could well be worse than coal on the GHG front. Now, coal is still the leader in a lot of other areas, and we’re better off moving away from both of them, but the argument that coal is better than natural gas isn’t completely without merit.
A lot of the problem competing with China in heavy industry is they use a lot of coal for electricity generation vs. places like the US that use cleaner but more expensive natural gas China also has a government policy to subsidize industry through energy pricing schemes.
If the west insisted China maintain similar environmental rules, western industry would have been a lot more competitive.
Natural gas electricity contributes more greenhouse gasses per kwh than coal though. The PRC also has lower co2 emissions per capita.
https://www.cowi.com/news-and-press/news/2023/comparing-co2-emissions-from-different-energy-sources/
So coal is twice as bad on CO2 per kW compared to natural gas. Apart from poluting way more in particles and heavy metals, that cause cancer and respiratory diseases.
Repeat after me: “Coal is so BAD basically EVERYTHING else is better.”
Now try to remember it too.
The expansion of electricity in UK is based on Nuclear and wind turbines. So even if you compare heat generated by electricity compared to heat generated directly from coal. Electricity comes out ahead. And as the sources are moved more and more towards renewables, this will only get better over time.
Yes, but natural gas is a more potent greenhouse gas than co2 and there are continuous natural gas leaks. All the CO2 savings (vs coal) from each KwH of burned natural gas is completely negated by all the leaks on the way to the consumer. Note that most oil companies are very bad at reporting leaks, we basically have to measure them manually from satellites to know about them.
https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/how-much-does-natural-gas-contribute-climate-change-through-co2-emissions-when-fuel-burned
Never said electrification was a bad thing, just natural gas. Instead of building new natural gas plants and patting ourselves on the back for it not being coal, we should just build more renewables.
There is good evidence that natural gas infrastructure is so leaky that it could well be worse than coal on the GHG front. Now, coal is still the leader in a lot of other areas, and we’re better off moving away from both of them, but the argument that coal is better than natural gas isn’t completely without merit.