Commitment accounting of CO 2 emissions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15549388 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Steven J Davis (0000-0002-9338-0844, University of California, Irvine, corresponding author), Robert H Socolow (Princeton University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages | 084018-084018 |
| Publication date | 2014-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Research Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326 |
| Publisher | IOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/9/8/084018 |
| OpenAlex | W1982813761 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 48 |
| References cited | 5 |
The world not only continues to build new coal-fired power plants, but built more new coal plants in the past decade than in any previous decade. Worldwide, an average of 89 gigawatts per year (GW yr ^–1 ) of new coal generating capacity was added between 2010 and 2012, 23 GW yr ^–1 more than in the 2000–2009 time period and 56 GW yr ^–1 more than in the 1990–1999 time period. Natural gas plants show a similar pattern. Assuming these plants operate for 40 years, the fossil-fuel burning plants built in 2012 will emit approximately 19 billion tons of CO _2 (Gt CO _2 ) over their lifetimes, versus 14 Gt CO _2 actually emitted by all operating fossil fuel power plants in 2012. We find that total committed emissions related to the power sector are growing at a rate of about 4% per year, and reached 307 (with an estimated uncertainty of 192–439) Gt CO _2 in 2012. These facts are not well known in the energy policy community, where annual emissions receive far more attention than future emissions related to new capital investments. This paper demonstrates the potential for ‘commitment accounting’ to inform public policy by quantifying future emissions implied by current investments
Agricultural economics · Coal · Economics · Environmental protection · Fossil fuel · Greenhouse gas · Natural gas · Natural resource economics · Waste management · Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics · Climate Change Policy and Economics · Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies · Engineering · Environmental Science · Ecology
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Consequences of long-term infrastructure decisions—the case of self-healing roads and their CO 2 emissions
An empirical analysis of the environmental performance of China’s overseas coal plants
Emissions projections for US utilities through 2050
Committed emissions and the risk of stranded assets from power plants in Latin America and the Caribbean
Climate constraints on the carbon intensity of economic growth
Stranded asset implications of the Paris Agreement in Latin America and the Caribbean
Early retirement of power plants in climate mitigation scenarios
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The role of capital costs in decarbonizing the electricity sector
A striking growth of CO 2 emissions from the global cement industry driven by new facilities in emerging countries
Reports of coal’s terminal decline may be exaggerated
Assessing carbon lock-in
Coal transitions—part 2
Existing fossil fuel extraction would warm the world beyond 1.5 °C
Pattern changes in determinants of Chinese emissions
Systematic map of the literature on carbon lock-in induced by long-lived capital
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Where have all the funds gone? Multiregional input-output analysis of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development
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| Unique citing works | 48 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4 |
| Citation span | 2014 - 2025 (12) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 48 |