5% of the world's power plants cause 73% of the sector's emissions

According to a study, targeted interventions on the "super polluters" club could help reduce polluting emissions faster

Pollution (Photo: Getty Images) Exceptional heat waves, floods, fires: the effects of climate change they are becoming increasingly evident on our planet and it is now clear that the elimination of carbon dioxide emissions is an absolute priority for our future. Indeed, everyone can do something about it, but someone owes more than others.

In the energy sector, these are the "super polluters", a limited number of structures responsible for most of the emissions from global electricity generation. By targeting the most extreme polluters of each nation, therefore, a considerable reduction of all carbon dioxide emissions could be achieved, with great benefits globally: this is what emerges from a study conducted by researchers from the Boulder University of Colorado. , in the United States. The results were published in Environmental Research Letters.

A problem for the environment

According to the International Energy Agency, the global energy sector powered by fossil fuels is constantly growing, and with it, the volume of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. Over the past two decades, carbon dioxide emissions from the electrical industry have increased by 53% worldwide. And more than half of all emissions are expected to come from this sector in the future. Rising numbers that deviate sharply from what are the climate goals, in which UN countries are committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, with the interim goal of reducing carbon emissions by at least 55% by 2030.

How can we then pursue these objectives? Some scholars agree in limiting the emissions of each facility that deals with electricity from fossil fuels. Others, on the other hand, believe that targeted intervention is more effective. According to several scientists, in fact, the most effective way to tackle climate change is to target the so-called "polluter elite": individuals who own large stakes in fossil fuel companies and who are among the richest 10% of the world's population. and the carbon majors, the hundred companies responsible for supplying 70% of fossil fuels globally. Among the sectors analyzed there is also that of fossil fuel power plants, which burn and emit CO 2 into the atmosphere, like some coal plants in the United States or China.

Target the few polluters

Faced with these evidences, researchers from the University of Colorado, led by Don Grant, investigated the inequalities between the various countries of the world in the carbon dioxide emissions of power plants, and estimated the percentage reduction in emissions if the "super polluters" implemented practical actions. Researchers sifted through a data archive of more than 29,000 fossil fuel power plants in 221 countries, finding that extreme polluters, accounting for 5% of the total, are responsible for 73% of global emissions from electricity generation.
According to the researchers' calculations, moreover, it would be enough to act directly on these power plants to have appreciable effects on the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In fact, global emissions would decrease by about 25% if super polluters increased their energy efficiency; almost 30% if they switched from using coal or oil to natural gas as raw material; and nearly 50% if they implemented carbon capture technologies. Therefore, targeting the world's super polluters could produce global benefits.

The unclear points

The survey is not without its critical points. For some plants that were not required to report the amount of emissions, researchers were forced to make an estimate and it was not possible to verify all emission levels. Scientists therefore hope to continue to collect, standardize and share more data of this type, in order to tackle climate change with greater awareness.


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Environment Climate Cop26 Energy pollution globalData.fldTopic = "Environment, Climate, Cop26, Energy, pollution"

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