COP26

[MikeyH]

I thought I’d seen or read somewhere that China had cancelled it’s coal fired generator building program.

[Flyingfifer]

Sorry mate but that is misleading. I know you didn't publish it, only Googled it, but it makes no sense.
Coal can't be measured in mmcf (millions of cubic feet). Only liquids and gases can be measured in volumes. Coal should be measured in tonnes (or tons), i.e weight.
Not trying to defend China at all, but they have the world's best 'renewables' program.

I'm aware of what the measurement means and admittedly it did seem an unusual unit to use though admittedly I didnt have the time to check, Reuters gives a figure of 4.04 billion tonnes.
SAUCE

Its true that China has a massive renewable sector but that's not really relevant to the point I was making which, for clarity, was that this COP26 is arguably a colossal waste of time, money and, most offensively carbon emissions when they are hailing agreements that dont include the parties responsible for 70+% of the fossil fuel usage.

[Pondrew]

Its true that China has a massive renewable sector but that's not really relevant to the point I was making which, for clarity, was that this COP26 is arguably a colossal waste of time, money and, most offensively carbon emissions when they are hailing agreements that dont include the parties responsible for 70+% of the fossil fuel usage.

Agreed. These politicians and entourages of civil servants will, undoubtedly, make promises that they can't keep. It is down to industry to facilitate these (massive) promises, without their input into COP26. Politics and industry just don't really mix IMO.

[Nanu]

True though its also not restricted to companies, the UK for example, our debt is partially secured against the wealth of north sea oil, if we suddenly decided that we would no longer extract and sell it the UK balance of payments would tip significantly into the red (coincidentally a large part of the reason they didnt want YES in 2014 but thats a whole other topic).

The UK doesnt rely on coal fired power stations, my understanding was that some years ago they werent even being used to meet the energy needs and were to be completely phased out by 2025 though not sure if that is still on track.

I am no fan of nuclear, however if we truly want to ditch fossil fuels ASAP thats the only real reliable option

I think they have just committed again to phase out all coal usage within the next couple of years. That despite having to very recently fire up a coal powered station to supply electricity to the grid because we had a sustained period where there was little or no wind and the sun don't shine much at this time of year.

I agree with the nuclear options. Rolls Royce I believe are designing small nuclear power stations that can be sited across the country at a much lower cost so could be one answer. Wind and solar just won't cut it. Ever. They can just about manage 50% now. Think about when all cars and transport is electric and heating is electric.