SHOOT: And one of the best ways to do this is to substitute nuclear for coal.
Do we still have time to avert climate calamity, and if so what would it take?
We do, but just barely. If we phase out coal linearly by 2030, CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere will peak at 400 to 425 ppm, which is low enough that it allows you to get back to 350, especially if there is extensive reforestation of degraded areas. So a fundamental requirement is to phase out the use of coal in 20 years, which means you have to start now and not build any more coal-burning power plants: these have a lifetime of decades, and once they're built utilities don't want to retire them before their lifetime is up.
You write that energy efficiency and renewables won't be enough to meet the energy needs of China and India in the next few decades. So what do we
do?
They will require nuclear power for electricity. They are both moving in that direction, and we really should help them. They have such polluted air and water that they'd love to get off dirty fuels like coal. |
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