Why Brazil Can't Quit Coal
Many of the 80-plus countries at the COP30 climate conference in Brazil are pushing for a detailed road map that would phase out fossil fuels.
Brazil has the presidency of the 30th conference of the parties under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the treaty signed in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro that binds the world to “avoid dangerous climate change”, without specifying how to do so.
COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago is reportedly pushing for a decision on four issues that weren’t on the original agenda, before the annual confab ends on Friday.
The four issues are whether countries should be told to toughen their new climate plans; details on handing out USD$300 billion in pledged climate aid; dealing with trade barriers over climate; and improving reporting on transparency and climate progress, states CTV News.
It must be embarrassing for the host country to push for progress on the big climate issues of the day when it continues to generate electricity from the worst polluter of the fossil-fuel trifecta, coal.
This in a nation that generates 80 percent of its power from renewable energy. Hydroelectric power accounts for the largest share, at about 60-65 percent.
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In the southern mining town of Candiota, one of Brazil’s last coal plants was restarted in July after the plant’s owner Ambar, controlled by billionaire brothers Wesley and Joesley Batista, invested billions to keep its turbines turning.
Candiota and five other coal plants still produce 3 percent of Brazil’s electricity.
Christine Shearer, who monitors coal for think tank Global Energy Monitor, told Reuters that Brazil has the solar, hydro and wind resources to shut the plants down, but they are trumped by big business.
“The strength of the coal lobby, particularly in these coal mining states, is the reason that you see these coal plants sticking around,” she said.
It’s also the government, which continues to support coal mining. Last month, lawmakers approved a bill granting contracts until 2040 for plants to run on domestic coal. The Brazilian government has also made coal eligible for a planned capacity auction in March.
The Candiota plant sells energy on the spot market, helping to meet demand at peak hours when intermittent wind and solar can’t. The operation supports 10,000 jobs, including cement factories that repurpose coal ash, which explains why the government can’t quite quit coal despite pressures to do so.
Environmental group Arayara is trying to suspend Candiota’s environmental license in court.
Of the just over 3,000 coal mines operating worldwide, 24 are in Brazil.
According to GlobalData’s mines and projects database, Candiota is the fifth largest, preceded by the number 4 Verdinho underground mine, the Seival mine in third spot, the Recreio mine in second, and the largest coal mine in Brazil, Arroio dos Ratos, which produced an estimated 4.24 million tonnes per annum in 2023.
Coal is being eased out as a fossil fuel in advanced economies, driven by climate policies and cheaper renewables. It is considered the dirtiest fossil fuel because it emits more carbon dioxide per unit of energy produced, and its combustion releases significant amounts of other harmful pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
The United Kingdom closed its last coal power station in September 2024. Belgium, Sweden and Portugal have completely phased it out. Germany infamously turned to coal during the energy crisis of 2022, when Russia cut shipments of natural gas to Europe. The country has a plan to phase out coal by 2038. Canada plans to eliminate coal-fired electricity by 2030.
It’s a different story in emerging economies. Coal demand reached an all-time high in 2024, with growth primarily in the Asia Pacific region, particularly India and China. China continues to build new coal power capacity, partly to back up intermittent solar and wind power. In 2023, China’s new coal power construction was significantly higher than the rest of the world combined.
By Andrew Topf for Oilprice.com
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