TY - JOUR
T1 - Carbon dioxide emissions from global overseas coal-fired power plants
AU - Guo, Peng
AU - Shen, Huizhong
AU - Chen, Yilin
AU - Dai, Hancheng
AU - Mai, Zelin
AU - Xu, Ruibin
AU - Zhang, Ruixin
AU - Wang, Zhanxiang
AU - He, Jinling
AU - Zheng, Lianming
AU - Sun, Haitong Zhe
AU - Ke, Kainan
AU - Meng, Jing
AU - Liu, Maodian
AU - Li, Jin
AU - Adalibieke, Wulahati
AU - Wang, Chen
AU - Ye, Jianhuai
AU - Zhu, Lei
AU - Shen, Guofeng
AU - Fu, Tzung May
AU - Tsang, Albert
AU - Yang, Xin
AU - Russell, Armistead G.
AU - Driscoll, Charles T.
AU - Tao, Shu
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2024.
PY - 2024/11
Y1 - 2024/11
N2 - Foreign investments in overseas coal-fired power plants (OCPs) largely impede decarbonization efforts, yet their global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have not been sufficiently quantified. Here we analyse investment data from 908 OCPs worldwide, and then reveal current annual emissions of 0.53 GtCO2 yr−1 and a historical cumulative total of 26 GtCO2. Developed nations account for 78% of these cumulative emissions on the basis of investments, while emissions from developing nations have surged from 8% in 1960 to 39% in 2022. Assuming unchanged policies and technologies, OCPs are projected to contribute an additional 15–30 GtCO2 in cumulative emissions by 2060 directly. Furthermore, they could stimulate local coal power growth in emerging economies, potentially adding 6.3–45.0 GtCO2 emissions indirectly. Our study underscores the critical importance of low-carbon policy interventions in emerging countries to curb the power-sector carbon emissions increasingly influenced by international capital.
AB - Foreign investments in overseas coal-fired power plants (OCPs) largely impede decarbonization efforts, yet their global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have not been sufficiently quantified. Here we analyse investment data from 908 OCPs worldwide, and then reveal current annual emissions of 0.53 GtCO2 yr−1 and a historical cumulative total of 26 GtCO2. Developed nations account for 78% of these cumulative emissions on the basis of investments, while emissions from developing nations have surged from 8% in 1960 to 39% in 2022. Assuming unchanged policies and technologies, OCPs are projected to contribute an additional 15–30 GtCO2 in cumulative emissions by 2060 directly. Furthermore, they could stimulate local coal power growth in emerging economies, potentially adding 6.3–45.0 GtCO2 emissions indirectly. Our study underscores the critical importance of low-carbon policy interventions in emerging countries to curb the power-sector carbon emissions increasingly influenced by international capital.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85205100332&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85205100332&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41558-024-02114-y
DO - 10.1038/s41558-024-02114-y
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85205100332
SN - 1758-678X
VL - 14
SP - 1151
EP - 1157
JO - Nature Climate Change
JF - Nature Climate Change
IS - 11
ER -