PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Coal and COVID-19: How the pandemic is accelerating the end of fossil power generation

2021-02-08
(Press-News.org) COVID-19 has not only caused a temporary drop in global CO2 emissions, it has also reduced the share of power generated by burning coal - a trend that could in fact outlast the pandemic. This is the key result of a new study by a team of economists based in Potsdam and Berlin that looked at COVID-19's impact on the energy system and demand for electricity. Their findings show that the pandemic, while putting a terrible toll on people's lives and the economy, has also opened a window of opportunity to make this current trend of decreasing coal use irreversible: Supported by the right climate policy measures, power sector emissions could decline more rapidly than previously thought.

"Coal has been hit harder by the Corona crisis than other power sources - and the reason is simple," explains lead author Christoph Bertram from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). "If demand for electricity drops, coal plants are usually switched off first. This is because the process of burning fuels constantly runs up costs. The plant operators have to pay for each single ton of coal. In contrast, renewable power sources such as wind and solar plants, once built, have significantly lower running costs - and keep on operating even if the demand is reduced."

This way, fossil fuels were partly squeezed out of the electricity generation mix in 2020 and global CO2 emissions from the power sector decreased around 7%. By looking at India, the USA, and European countries alone a more dramatic picture emerges: In these key markets, where monthly electricity demand declined by up to 20% compared to 2019, the monthly CO2 emissions decreased by up to 50%.

The researchers estimate that it's likely that emissions will not reach the all-time high of 2018 anymore. "Due to the ongoing crisis, we expect that 2021 electricity demand will be at about 2019's levels, which, given ongoing investments into low-carbon generation means lower fossil generation than in that year," says co-author Gunnar Luderer from PIK. "As long as this clean electricity generation growth exceeds increases in electricity demand, CO2 emissions from the power sector will decline. Only if we saw unusually high demand for electricity along with surprisingly few additions of renewable power plants from 2022-2024 and beyond, fossil fuel generation would rebound to pre-pandemic levels."

While the power sector has seen a dynamic transformation process even before the advent of COVID-19, the pandemic has weakened the market position of coal-fired power generation and illustrated its vulnerability.

"Our research shows that investing in fossil-fueled power is not only environmentally irresponsible - it is economically very risky," says co-author Ottmar Edenhofer, Director of both PIK and the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change. "In the end, it will certainly take carbon pricing to cut emissions at the required pace and stabilize our Climate. Yet the impacts of the Corona crisis on the power generation sector have put political leaders in a unique position: Along with additional policies such as eliminating subsidies for fossil fuels and increasing investments in wind and solar power, it is now easier than ever before to put an end to high-carbon electricity."

INFORMATION:

Article: Christoph Bertram, Gunnar Luderer, Felix Creutzig, Nico Bauer, Falko Ueckerdt, Aman Malik, Ottmar Edenhofer (2021): COVID-induced low power demand and market forces starkly reduce CO2 emissions. Nature Climate Change [DOI: 10.1038/s41558-021-00987-x]



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Higher blood pressure at night than in daytime may increase Alzheimer's disease risk

2021-02-08
Higher blood pressure at night than in daytime may be a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease in older men. This is suggested by a new study from researchers at Uppsala University, now published in the journal Hypertension. 'Dementia' is an umbrella term used to describe a category of symptoms marked by behavioural changes and gradually declining cognitive and social abilities. Numerous factors, including hypertension (high blood pressure), affect the risk of developing these symptoms. Under healthy conditions, blood pressure (BP) varies over 24 hours, with lowest values reached at night. Doctors call this nocturnal blood pressure fall 'dipping'. However, in some people, ...

Winner-takes-all synthetic gene circuit process opens new pathways to disease treatment

Winner-takes-all synthetic gene circuit process opens new pathways to disease treatment
2021-02-08
A new process for inserting synthetic gene circuits into host cells, developed by a team of bioengineers at Arizona State University, has broad implications for improving the effectiveness of a range of disease therapies. Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary research field that uses engineering principles to create biological components that don't exist in the natural world. These synthetic components mimic naturally evolved organisms, but are customized to fight disease, including cancer. A paper recently published in Nature Communications, "Winner-Takes-All Resource Competition Redirects Cascading Cell Fate Transitions," outlines how gene circuits can be reconfigured so that they do not overwhelm the host cells. "We ...

79% decrease in primary care visits, 56-fold increase in virtual care: COVID-19 pandemic

2021-02-08
In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an almost 80% decrease in primary care office visits in Ontario and a 56-fold increase in virtual visits, found new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "Initial reports from primary care providers during the pandemic in both Canada and the United States showed major disruptions to care, decreased payments, challenges keeping offices functioning, lack of personal protective equipment and widespread uptake of virtual care, but we didn't know how COVID-19 had affected in-person office visits," says ...

Study links exposure to nighttime artificial lights with elevated thyroid cancer risk

2021-02-08
People living in regions with high levels of outdoor artificial light at night may face a higher risk of developing thyroid cancer. The finding comes from a study published early online in END ...

Survey: Most Americans say they'll continue health precautions after COVID-19

2021-02-08
A new national survey of more than 2,000 Americans by END ...

Scientists switch on tissue repair in inflammatory bowel disease

2021-02-08
A method that instructs immune system cells to help repair damaged tissues in the intestine has been developed by researchers at KU Leuven and Seoul National University. This opens the way for more effective treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The study was carried out on humans and mice. When functioning correctly, the immune system protects against harmful agents such as bacteria that get into the body. But in conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the immune system attacks the tissues that line the gut, forming ulcers and causing pain and discomfort. Nearly 3.9 million women and 3.0 ...

Front-of-package product names and ingredient lists of infant and toddler food can be hard to navigate

2021-02-08
Philadelphia, February 8, 2021 - Early exposure to nutritious foods may help children develop more healthful eating habits, but package labels can make it difficult for parents to understand what they are feeding their young children, according to a END ...

Rapid, reliable on-site drug detection using wearable sensor

Rapid, reliable on-site drug detection using wearable sensor
2021-02-08
Researchers in South Korea have successfully developed a wearable sensor that can detect illegal drugs in sweat by using nanomaterials technology that amplify the optical signal of narcotics to a flexible, body-worn material. Led by Dr. Ho Sang Jung, the research unit is part of the Korea Institute of Materials Science(KIMS), a government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT. The technology enables fast and highly sensitive drug detection: the sweat patch is attached to the skin for a certain period of time and then irradiated with light for testing. It only takes one minute without requiring additional process. Traditional drug detection process requires a complex method of extracting suspected drug components from ...

Online searches can help foreshadow future COVID-19 surges and declines, new study shows

2021-02-08
Online searches for mobile and isolated activities can help to predict later surges and declines in COVID-19 cases, a team of researchers has found. Its findings, based on a four-month analysis of online searches, offer a potential means to anticipate the pathways of the pandemic--before new infections are reported. "This is a first step towards building a tool that can help predict COVID case surges by capturing higher-risk activities and intended mobility, which searches for gyms and in-person dining can illuminate," says Anasse Bari, a clinical assistant professor in computer science at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences ...

Higher blood pressure over life span increases congestive heart failure risk in Black people

Higher blood pressure over life span increases congestive heart failure risk in Black people
2021-02-08
AUGUSTA, Ga (Feb. 8, 2021) - Starting with early childhood, otherwise healthy Black people show signs of slightly diminished heart muscle strength and a slightly higher blood pressure than their white counterparts, factors which may put them on a course for early development of congestive heart failure, researchers report. The take-home message for parents and physicians is that, particularly for populations at high cardiovascular risk such as Black people, a close check should be kept on blood pressure starting in early adolescence, says the corresponding author of the study in Journal of the American Heart Association. Children ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Being consistently physically active in adulthood linked to 30–40% lower risk of death

Nerve pain drug gabapentin linked to increased dementia, cognitive impairment risks

Children’s social care involvement common to nearly third of UK mums who died during perinatal period

‘Support, not judgement’: Study explores links between children’s social care involvement and maternal deaths

Ethnic minority and poorer children more likely to die in intensive care

Major progress in fertility preservation after treatment for cancer of the lymphatic system

Fewer complications after additional ultrasound in pregnant women who feel less fetal movement

Environmental impact of common pesticides seriously underestimated

The Milky Way could be teeming with more satellite galaxies than previously thought

New study reveals surprising reproductive secrets of a cricket-hunting parasitoid fly

Media Tip Sheet: Symposia at ESA2025

NSF CAREER Award will power UVA engineer’s research to improve drug purification

Tiny parasitoid flies show how early-life competition shapes adult success

New coating for glass promises energy-saving windows

Green spaces boost children’s cognitive skills and strengthen family well-being

Ancient trees dying faster than expected in Eastern Oregon

Study findings help hone precision of proven CVD risk tool

Most patients with advanced melanoma who received pre-surgical immunotherapy remain alive and disease free four years later

Introducing BioEmu: A generative AI Model that enables high-speed and accurate prediction of protein structural ensembles

Replacing mutated microglia with healthy microglia halts progression of genetic neurological disease in mice and humans

New research shows how tropical plants manage rival insect tenants by giving them separate ‘flats’

Condo-style living helps keep the peace inside these ant plants

Climate change action could dramatically limit rising UK heatwave deaths

Annual heat-related deaths projected to increase significantly due to climate and population change

Researchers discover new way cells protect themselves from damage

Rivers choose their path based on erosion — a discovery that could transform flood planning and restoration

New discovery reveals dopamine operates with surgical precision, not as a broad signal

New AI tool gives a helping hand to x ray diagnosis

New Leicester study reveals hidden heart risks in women with Type 2 Diabetes

Over 400 different types of nerve cell have been grown – far more than ever before

[Press-News.org] Coal and COVID-19: How the pandemic is accelerating the end of fossil power generation