Compensating affected parties necessary for rapid coal phase-out but expensive if extended to major emitters
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2024

Coal power phase-out is critical for climate mitigation, yet it harms workers, companies, and coal-dependent regions. We find that more than half of countries that pledge coal phase-out have “just transition” policies which compensate these actors. Compensation is larger in countries with more ambitious coal phase-out pledges and most commonly directed to national and regional governments or companies, with a small share going directly to workers. Globally, compensation amounts to over $200 billion (uncertainty 163-258), about half of which is funded through international schemes, mostly through Just Energy Transition Partnerships and the European Union Just Transition Fund. If similar transfers are extended to China and India to phase out coal in line with the Paris temperature targets, compensation flows could become larger than current international climate financing. Our findings highlight that the socio-political acceptance of coal phase-out has a tangible economic component which should be factored into assessing the feasibility of achieving climate targets.

Författare

Lola Nacke

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Fysisk resursteori

Vadim Vinichenko

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Fysisk resursteori

Aleh Cherp

Lunds universitet

Közép-Európai Egyetem

Avi Jakhmola

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Fysisk resursteori

Jessica Jewell

Internationales Institut fuer Angewandte Systemanalyse

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Fysisk resursteori

Universitetet i Bergen

Nature Communications

2041-1723 (ISSN) 20411723 (eISSN)

Vol. 15 1 3742

Mechanisms and actors of Feasible Energy Transitions (MANIFEST)

Europeiska forskningsrådet (ERC) (950408), 2021-03-01 -- 2026-02-28.

Drivkrafter

Hållbar utveckling

Ämneskategorier

Nationalekonomi

Energisystem

Klimatforskning

DOI

10.1038/s41467-024-47667-w

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2024-07-03