The New York Times today reports that Europe, which will meet its Kyoto obligations by purchasing pollution credits from other countries, is turning back to coal. Europe will construct 50 new coal plants over the next few years (that’s about what China constructs in six months).
Yikes. Just when the planet needs less carbon in the air, countries are ramping up and building new coal plants. Coal is about the dirtiest, most environmentally destructive ways to generate energy, with a sole advantage being that it is cheap.
But it’s only cheap in the short-term. Long-term, the price is way too high to pay.