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Future of Coal Series

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Despite major shifts in the industry and serious worries in coal communities, today coal still supplies nearly 40% of our electricity. According to the Bureau of Land Management, one out of every five homes and business in the US use electricity made from Wyoming coal. But what does the future look like for fossil fuels in a world where there is increasing pressure to keep them in the ground? In this series, we examine the role of coal as an energy source in a world where constraints on carbon emissions are adopted to mitigate global warming. Indeed, the challenge for governments and industry is to find a path that mitigates carbon emissions yet continues to utilize coal to meet urgent energy needs, especially in developing economies.

Future of Coal Series

Industry shutdowns are messy and painful: 4 lessons Australia’s coal sector can learn from car-makers about bowing out

Mar 25, 2024 07:46 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy Business

Shifting Australias electricity sector to low-carbon technologies and closing coal plants is vital to tackling climate change. But such transitions are easier said than done. People and economies are often deeply...

Future of Coal Series

Thermoelectric technologies can help power a zero-carbon future

Feb 22, 2024 06:25 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

Thermometers are an under-appreciated marvel of human ingenuity built upon an understanding of relatively simple physical principles. Mercury and alcohol thermometers rely on the volume of liquids growing or shrinking in...

Future of Coal Series

Extraction of raw materials could rise 60% by 2060 – and making mining ‘greener’ won’t stop the damage

Feb 20, 2024 11:15 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

The United Nations flagship Global Resources Outlook report is the portrait of a juggernaut. Due to be published later this month by the UNs International Resource Panel, it highlights how global consumption of raw...

Future of Coal Series

'Gold' hydrogen: natural deposits are turning up all over the world – but how useful is it in our move away from fossil fuels?

Jan 15, 2024 03:42 am UTC| Nature Business

Hydrogen will play a role in weaning us off fossil fuels. It can be used to power trains, planes and HGVs, as well as being a low-carbon alternative to coke in steelmaking and a way to warm our homes. But where will we...

Future of Coal Series

Making fossil fuel companies accountable for their products’ emissions would support the clean energy transition

Dec 18, 2023 02:23 am UTC| Business

I recently found myself among a group of alarmed scientists, writing a fervent plea to the European Commission to be more ambitious when it comes to corporate greenhouse gas reporting requirements. Our open letter calling...

Future of Coal Series

Coal will be all but gone by 2034 under Australia's latest energy roadmap

Dec 18, 2023 02:21 am UTC| Economy

Australias coal power stations will all close in 2038 five years earlier than previously expected and variable renewable energy capacity will need to triple by 2030 and increase sevenfold by 2050. These are two key...

Future of Coal Series

The world's carbon price is a fraction of what we need – because only a fifth of global emissions are priced

Jan 24, 2023 05:30 am UTC| Economy

At the end of last year, the worlds average price to emit one tonne of greenhouse gases was around US$5.29 (AU$7.77). For pricing to work as we want to wean us off fossil fuels it needs to be around $75 by the end of the...

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Economy

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburgs literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers...

Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget

With Jim Chalmerss third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief beyond the tax cuts although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As this weeks consumer price...

Inflation is slowly falling, while student debt is climbing: 6 graphs that explain today’s CPI

Australias inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and its now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. The annual rate peaked at 7.8% in the December quarter of 2022 and is now just 3.6%, in...

The Mattei Plan: why Giorgia Meloni is looking to Africa

Since coming to power, Giorgia Melonis government has been remarkably orthodox in its foreign policy. Unwavering support for Ukraine, loyalty to the Atlantic Alliance and full participation in the European Union - these...

Politics

Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board

To say that the Labour party is flying high in the polls is something of an understatement. But despite its consistent lead against the Tories, the opposition finds itself in a rather odd position: on the cusp of power but...

History for sale: what does South Africa’s struggle heritage mean after 30 years of democracy?

One of my favourite statues is the one of Nelson Mandela at the Sandton City shopping centre in Johannesburg. Larger than life, its oversized bronze shoes shimmer in the evening light, polished by the hands of many...

Sudan: civil war stretches into a second year with no end in sight

In the early hours of April 15 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) a Sudanese paramilitary force attacked the military airstrip in the town of Merowe and deployed troops across strategic locations in Sudans capital,...

Military conscription is returning to Europe, but is it really a more equal way of mobilising? What history tells us

The idea that conscription, defined as the compulsory enlistment of citizens for military service, can increase equality and instil a sense of solidarity that transcends traditional societal divides has echoed throughout...

The 50th anniversary of Portugal’s Carnation Revolution

Across Portugal, a number of photography exhibitions are currently on display that commemorate the ousting of the Estado Novo, the dictatorial, authoritarian and corporatist political regime that had ruled the country...

Science

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook

A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a mans home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station. The 700g,...

Peter Higgs was one of the greats of particle physics. He transformed what we know about the building blocks of the universe

Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson, has died aged 94. He was always a modest man, especially when considering that he was one of the greats of particle physics the area of...

Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains

The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST for short, is one of the most advanced telescopes ever built. Planning for JWST began over 25 years ago, and construction efforts spanned over a decade. It was launched into space on...

US media coverage of new science less likely to mention researchers with African and East Asian names

When one Chinese national recently petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to become a permanent resident, he thought his chances were pretty good. As an accomplished biologist, he figured that news...

Technology

BYD Profits Drop 47%, Tesla Launches Cybertruck Off-Road Guide Amid EV Price War

Amid a fierce EV price war in China, BYDs profits plummeted by 47% in the first quarter of 2024. This contrasts sharply with Teslas proactive approach, which includes releasing a detailed off-road guide for Cybertruck...

US Court Sets May Hearing for Terraform Labs, Do Kwon Remedies

On May 22, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York is set to consider proposed financial remedies from Terraform Labs and its co-founder, Do Kwon, following a fraud verdict. The court will hear...

Bitcoin Traders Unfazed by 20% Drop: 'Pretty Ordinary Stuff'

As Bitcoin endures its fourth 20% correction in 12 months, dropping to $59,730, market veterans see it as nothing unusual. Leaders in the crypto industry, like Raoul Pal and Thomas Fahrer, reassure that such fluctuations...

Elon Musk Fires EV Supercharger Staff, Explains Reason for the Team’s Disbandment

Elon Musk disbanded Teslas EV Supercharger team amid company-wide layoffs affecting employees worldwide. The 52-year-old Tesla chief also terminated senior executives. The CEO demolished part of the unit responsible for...

Tesla Expands Semi Trials to Sysco After PepsiCo Success

Teslas Semi has once again exceeded expectations with food distribution giant Sysco, marking a significant step beyond its initial partnership with PepsiCo. Photographed in California, the Tesla Semis trial demonstrates...