The 21st Century Coal Question: China, India, Development, and Climate Change
China and India are not only the two most populous nations on Earth, they are also two of the most rapidly growing economies. Historically, economic and social development have been subsidized by cheap and abundant fossil-fuels. Climate change from fossil-fuel emissions has resulted in the need to r...
Main Authors: | , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2019-08-01
|
Series: | Atmosphere |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/10/8/476 |
_version_ | 1828365845993095168 |
---|---|
author | Kevin J. Warner Glenn A. Jones |
author_facet | Kevin J. Warner Glenn A. Jones |
author_sort | Kevin J. Warner |
collection | DOAJ |
description | China and India are not only the two most populous nations on Earth, they are also two of the most rapidly growing economies. Historically, economic and social development have been subsidized by cheap and abundant fossil-fuels. Climate change from fossil-fuel emissions has resulted in the need to reduce fossil-fuel emissions in order to avoid catastrophic warming. If climate goals are achieved, China and India will have been the first major economies to develop via renewable energy sources. In this article, we examine the factors of projected population growth, available fossil-fuel reserves, and renewable energy installations required to develop scenarios in which both China and India may increase per capita energy consumption while remaining on trach to meet ambitious climate goals. Here, we show that China and India will have to expand their renewable energy infrastructure at unprecedented rates in order to support both population growth and development goals. In the larger scope of the literature, we recommend community-based approaches to microgrid and cookstove development in both China and India. |
first_indexed | 2024-04-14T05:36:19Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-22ae87d1904c454da2b0161a96ad1ecb |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2073-4433 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-14T05:36:19Z |
publishDate | 2019-08-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
record_format | Article |
series | Atmosphere |
spelling | doaj.art-22ae87d1904c454da2b0161a96ad1ecb2022-12-22T02:09:37ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332019-08-0110847610.3390/atmos10080476atmos10080476The 21st Century Coal Question: China, India, Development, and Climate ChangeKevin J. Warner0Glenn A. Jones1Department of Marine Sciences, Texas A&M University Galveston Campus, Galveston, TX 77554, USADepartment of Marine Sciences, Texas A&M University Galveston Campus, Galveston, TX 77554, USAChina and India are not only the two most populous nations on Earth, they are also two of the most rapidly growing economies. Historically, economic and social development have been subsidized by cheap and abundant fossil-fuels. Climate change from fossil-fuel emissions has resulted in the need to reduce fossil-fuel emissions in order to avoid catastrophic warming. If climate goals are achieved, China and India will have been the first major economies to develop via renewable energy sources. In this article, we examine the factors of projected population growth, available fossil-fuel reserves, and renewable energy installations required to develop scenarios in which both China and India may increase per capita energy consumption while remaining on trach to meet ambitious climate goals. Here, we show that China and India will have to expand their renewable energy infrastructure at unprecedented rates in order to support both population growth and development goals. In the larger scope of the literature, we recommend community-based approaches to microgrid and cookstove development in both China and India.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/10/8/476climate changeChinaIndiarenewable energymodelinginternational development |
spellingShingle | Kevin J. Warner Glenn A. Jones The 21st Century Coal Question: China, India, Development, and Climate Change Atmosphere climate change China India renewable energy modeling international development |
title | The 21st Century Coal Question: China, India, Development, and Climate Change |
title_full | The 21st Century Coal Question: China, India, Development, and Climate Change |
title_fullStr | The 21st Century Coal Question: China, India, Development, and Climate Change |
title_full_unstemmed | The 21st Century Coal Question: China, India, Development, and Climate Change |
title_short | The 21st Century Coal Question: China, India, Development, and Climate Change |
title_sort | 21st century coal question china india development and climate change |
topic | climate change China India renewable energy modeling international development |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/10/8/476 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT kevinjwarner the21stcenturycoalquestionchinaindiadevelopmentandclimatechange AT glennajones the21stcenturycoalquestionchinaindiadevelopmentandclimatechange AT kevinjwarner 21stcenturycoalquestionchinaindiadevelopmentandclimatechange AT glennajones 21stcenturycoalquestionchinaindiadevelopmentandclimatechange |