Prince Charles stars in teaser for COP26: In Your Hands
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With the COP26 climate summit just around the corner, Washington is on track to U-turn on its commitment to tackling climate change. Figures published on Monday show the coal-fired power in the US is expected to surge by about 22 percent this year. The increased demand for coal has been attributed to an energy crunch caused by the soaring price of natural gas and demand for electricity post-pandemic.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects the US to burn through 22 percent more coal this year in 2021.
This marks the very first year-on-year increase in coal consumption since 2014.
The EIA said in a report published on Monday: “The US electric power sector has been generating more electricity from coal-fired power plants this year as a result of significantly higher natural gas prices and relatively stable coal prices.
“This year, 2021, will yield the first year-over-year increase in coal generation in the United States since 2014.”
The increase in coal consumption comes despite President Biden’s pledge to phase out fossil fuels.
As a signatory to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, the US has committed to curbing greenhouse emissions – the leading cause of global warming – by 2050.
The US is among the world’s biggest polluters, trailing behind China.
News of the increased consumption has led to an intense backlash on social media, as Twitter users thrashed the Government’s actions.
Andy Hoffman tweeted: “One persistent problem is that deniers are never held accountable.
“It’s really difficult to address such a major issue when so many of our leaders rationalize greed.
“If merely parasitic, we could deal, but this is cancer.”
Earlier this summer, Mr Biden’s administration rolled back Donald Trump-era rules on coal power in a bid to clean up the country’s energy sector.
Prince Charles: UK must 'lead the way' in climate change fight
The US President has also revealed plans to transform the industry and generate nearly half of all electricity using solar power by 2050.
Last week, the White House confirmed President Biden will travel to Scotland for the COP26 summit.
The summit is being hosted by the UK this year at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow, between November 1 and 12.
John Kerry, the US climate envoy, said the COP26 summit is the “last best hope for the world to get its act together”.
He told BBC Radio 4 greenhouse emissions need to be slashed over the next nine years if there is any chance of meeting long-term targets.
He said: “The truth is emissions are going up around the world, not down in enough countries, and key countries are pursuing policies that border on being very dangerous for everybody.”
However, reports by the US media suggest the Biden administration could be headed to COP26 without any national green policy to boast.
The White House has put forward a colossal social spending package that would introduce some of the most far-reaching climate legislation in US history.
But the £2.5trillion ($3.5trillion) bill faces a tough challenge in Congress with no guarantee it can garner enough support to pass the vote.
The Democrats’ bill has already been opposed by Senator Joe Manchin who fears the spending package will hit taxpayers in the pocket.
Mr Manchin hails from West Virginia, which has an industry that is heavily reliant on coal and other fossil fuels.
The Senator said in September: “Now they’re wanting to pay companies to do what they’re already doing.
“Makes no sense to me at all for us to take billions of dollars and pay utilities for what they’re going to do as the market transitions.”
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