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Of all of the fossil fuels, coal is the cheapest,
and so, despite the warnings of Rio, it remains the fuel of choice
for many countries in the South. The IPCC predicts that coal use
will increase by more than 700 percent by 2100. We know that every
ton of coal burned releases more than two and a half tons of carbon
dioxide into the air, on average, more carbon per unit of energy
than oil or gas; we know that most coal technology now in use wastes
two-thirds of the energy content of the coal. We know that coal-burning
produces sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, causing acid rain,
with devastating consequences for forests, aquatic life, and agricultural
productivity. And we know that coal mining destroys communities
that must be displaced and disrupts countless communities who suffer
downstream impacts from the mining and burning of coal. Nevertheless,
because these inefficiencies and costs are not calculated in the
price of coal, the use of coal continues to increase.
Between 1973 and 1993, coal use increased by 36 percent,
growing fastest in South America (360 percent) and Asia (162 percent)
and slowest in Europe (6 percent) . The world now burns more than
3.5 billion tons of coal a year. Countries like China, India, and
Brazil, which have their own substantial coal reserves, are expected
to burn coal most rapidly.
China alone releases 650 million metric tons of carbon
from coal-burning per year (about 27 percent of the world total
from coal burning)--and is projected to double its coal consumption
by 2010. At a shadow price of about $20 per ton of carbon , China
is now externalizing at least $13 billion in carbon emissions per
year from coal burning alone25.
Global energy use projections suggest that, in large part because
of their high coal consumption, China and India will account for
more than 20 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions from the global
South by 2010.
The world now consumes 65 million barrels of oil
a day. Oil burned by cars alone produces nearly a fifth of global
carbon dioxide; other noxious byproducts include carbon monoxide
and nitrogen oxides. Our addiction to oil is directly proportional
to our universal addiction to the automobile: Every second, an additional
car takes to the road.
Other oil products, such as diesel, heating oil,
jet fuel, bunker fuel for ships, and heavy fuel oil for power stations
compound the greenhouse effect and add to the burden of air-borne
pollutants. Between 1973 and 1993, oil use grew by 11 percent globally;
between 1995 and 2015, the world is expected to increase its consumption
of oil by another 59-68 percent, with the U.S. leading the pack.
Natural gas output grew the fastest of all fossil
fuels between 1973 and 1993, its output increasing by 72 percent
globally. Natural gas is considered cleaner than other fossil fuels
because it produces the least amount of carbon dioxide per unit
of energy when burned. However, unburned, in its natural form of
almost pure methane, it is many times more potent as a global warming
agent than carbon dioxide. Natural gas often leaks, unburned, from
coal beds, gas installations, gas pipelines, and in oil prospecting.
Gas leakages such as these can more than nullify the benefits of
relatively fewer greenhouse gas emissions when natural gas is burned.
Natural gas output is expected to increase by 50-58
percent between 1995 and 2015, with the former Soviet Union and
the U.S. leading the way, respectively, in greenhouse gas emissions
from natural gas production and consumption.
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