1. Reducing US Coal Emissions Can Boost Employment
- Author
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Erik Dotzauer, Niall Mac Dowell, Sylvain Leduc, Sabine Fuss, Joakim Lundgren, Michael Obersteiner, Piera Patrizio, Alma J. Mendoza, Elisabeth Wetterlund, Georg Kindermann, Florian Kraxner, Kasparas Spokas, Ping Yowargana, and Sennai Mesfun
- Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,business.industry ,Technological change ,Natural resource economics ,020209 energy ,Natural-gas processing ,Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage ,Context (language use) ,02 engineering and technology ,01 natural sciences ,General Energy ,Climate change mitigation ,Software deployment ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,Coal ,business ,Repurposing ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
Summary Concerns have been voiced that implementing climate change mitigation measures could come at the cost of employment, especially in the context of the US coal sector. However, repurposing US coal plants presents an opportunity to address emission mitigation and job creation, if the right technology change is adopted. In this study, the transformation of the US coal sector until 2050 is modeled to achieve ambitious climate targets. Results show that the cost-optimal strategy for meeting 2050 emission reductions consistent with 2°C stabilization pathways is through the early deployment of BECCS and by replacing 50% of aging coal plants with natural gas plants. This strategy addresses the concerns surrounding employment for coal workers by retaining 40,000 jobs, and creating 22,000 additional jobs by mid-century. Climate change mitigation does not have to come at the cost of employment, and policymakers could seek to take advantage of the social co-benefits of mitigation.
- Published
- 2018