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China's 'Belt and Road' Risks Paris Climate Goals: Analysis

posted by martyb on Tuesday September 03 2019, @04:50AM   
from the on-the-road-again dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Carbon-heavy development in countries part of China's Belt and Road Initiative could render the Paris climate goals unreachable, according to a new analysis on the gargantuan global infrastructure project released Monday.

The massive network of ports, railways, roads and industrial parks spanning Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe will see trillions invested in new infrastructure across 126 countries.

While the Chinese state is putting up a significant part of the cash, the project will also see other national and private-sector investment, and opponents warn of its devastating environmental impact.

An analysis of the possible carbon footprint of infrastructure development in Belt and Road (BRI) countries said there was a significant risk of the initiative alone producing enough greenhouse gas emissions to derail the Paris climate goals.

The 2015 accord enjoins nations to cap temperature rises to "well below" two degrees Celsius (3.6 Farenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

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Original Submission

• Re:This is where the Paris Agreement will fail (Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Tuesday September 03 2019, @11:45PM

  by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Tuesday September 03 2019, @11:45PM (#889321) Journal

  I obviously agree. But ideally, renewables should be more cost effective than coal, natural gas, etc. even without subsidies, which will lead to rapid adoption.

  Solar power will reach $1 per watt by 2020 [nextbigfuture.com]

  This week energy forecaster GTM Research predicted that the price of building big solar-power farms will drop below $1 a watt by 2020. That’s a big deal because it’s seen as the threshold below which building solar power arrays becomes competitive, without subsidies, with the cost of fossil-fuel plants. It’s also the target set in 2011 by the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative.

  --
  [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]

  Parent

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