“Coal vs. Solar: chasing the Paris dream”

The significant increase of investments into renewables in G20 countries is insufficient to meet the Paris Climate Agreement’s pledge to keep global warming well below two degrees Celsius, Klaus Stratmann and Silke Kersting write in Handelsblatt Global. Investments had to be doubled to achieve that goal, totalling 615 billion euros each year until 2035, according to a study by Allianz Climate and Energy Monitor, they say. Countries which heavily ramped up renewables investments, such as China and India, also continue to invest heavily in the construction of new coal-fired power plants, and will thereby undermine the Paris goals. About 1,600 coal plants are planned worldwide, enough to power one billion households in industrialised countries, they add.

Find the study by Allianz Climate and Energy Monitor in English here.

See the CLEW dossier The energy transition and climate change for background.