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Colombia hosts talks on exiting fossil fuels as global energy crisis deepens

latimes.com

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Re: Colombia hosts talks on exiting fossil fuels as global energy crisis deepens

#71

Post by akkrumel »

ars wrote: post #46
AtlasBarfed wrote: post #6

Treating alternative energy and PHEVs/EVs as a core national security concern should have started in the early 2000s. Yes, the PV revolution hadn't happened yet, but the hybrid auto was released in 1998 or so, and a PHEV is a natural extension to that. I'm weak on recollection as to when PV and wind started their big price plummet, but it was certainly in the 2010s. It's still not too late for ... everyone. In partic…

Cars are a very unimportant part of changing to clean energy. The most important part is the generation. Making specific types of cars required right now is VERY premature, and will just cause backlash. Let's focus on just one (main) thing: Clean generation of electricity. The rest will come in due course.

EVs are 3 to 4 times more efficient than ICE vehicles. So just converting to EVs is a huge efficiency gain. In fact, if we electrified industrial and transportation using existing technology we could reduce energy demand by up to 40%. And as you recommended, power generation from solar (where/when feasible) removes the need for ongoing fossil fuel purchases.

Re: Colombia hosts talks on exiting fossil fuels as global energy crisis deepens

#72

Post by titzer »

scottious wrote: post #9

> “The mere fact that the conference is happening is already a success,” said Claudio Angelo, senior policy adviser at Brazil’s Climate Observatory, a network of environmental, civil society and academic groups The bar has been set so low that talking about it is seen as success now. Sometimes I think the only way we'll really make meaningful progress is if we simply run out of fossil fuels. Unfortunately, we're just…

There is so much coal. There is at least 130 years worth at current consumption levels. And despite what everyone says about renewables and green energy and etc, world use still hit a high in 2024. We aren't going to run out of (coal at least) for a long time--and usage is still going up!

Re: Colombia hosts talks on exiting fossil fuels as global energy crisis deepens

#73

Post by applfanboysbgon »

alephnerd wrote: post #60
MattGrommes wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point of that comment is not that the talking is happening, it's that the hope of action isn't going to be blocked by industry-captured and plain moronic countries like Saudia Arabia and US, respectively. Even if these countries are a smaller part of the climate affecting processes, any forward motion is good at this point. They can also help build economies of scale, and take advantage of the myriad economic ben…

> Even if these countries are a smaller part of the climate affecting processes, any forward motion is good at this point China, The US, and India all turned down invites despite generating 34%, 12%, and 7.6% of global emissions respectively [0] If the world's 3 largest polluters (even if two of them are heavily investing in GreenTech) who represent ~54% of global emissions are not interested in the conversation, it'…

It is beyond shameful how Westerners misallocate the blame for pollution, using misleading statistics. India has ~17% of the world's population. That it only produces 7% of global emissions means it is contributing far, far, far less than whatever country you possibly come from in relative terms, so at that point you are besmirching it solely for the crime of having a larger population than your country.

China, while having a disproportionate share of the pollution relative to its population, only has that pollution because the West offshored almost the entirety of its manufacturing capacity to China. Is China really at fault for pollution caused creating goods for the West? If China shuts down all export manufacturing overnight, and the West is forced to resume manufacturing for itself, resulting in ~the same global emissions, is that what's necessary to stop blaming China even though there's no shift in demand for manufactured goods or total pollution? Moreover, China is investing more seriously into non-fossil-fuel energy than any country in the West, by far. If you let the West resume its own manufacturing, you would actually end up with higher total emissions, because the West does not take this subject seriously at all.

Re: Colombia hosts talks on exiting fossil fuels as global energy crisis deepens

#74

Post by titzer »

sofixa wrote: post #52
leonidasrup wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no progress in CO2 reduction, we are still emiting more CO2 each year. " Global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes increased by +0.7% within 2025." https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-026-00780-4

But the growth of CO2 emissions is slowing, even though the global economy is growing and many more countries are industrialising and becoming wealthier (both proxies of CO2 emissions). So we're working on it. Not as fast as we need, but progress is being made.

Usage going up is not progress.

Re: Colombia hosts talks on exiting fossil fuels as global energy crisis deepens

#75

Post by alephnerd »

titzer wrote: post #72
scottious wrote: post #9

> “The mere fact that the conference is happening is already a success,” said Claudio Angelo, senior policy adviser at Brazil’s Climate Observatory, a network of environmental, civil society and academic groups The bar has been set so low that talking about it is seen as success now. Sometimes I think the only way we'll really make meaningful progress is if we simply run out of fossil fuels. Unfortunately, we're just…

There is so much coal . There is at least 130 years worth at current consumption levels. And despite what everyone says about renewables and green energy and etc, world use still hit a high in 2024. We aren't going to run out of (coal at least) for a long time--and usage is still going up!

Also, China and India are both doubling down on coal after the Iran Crisis as their Coal Gasification [0] strategies [1] were made for this kind of supply chain risk in mind.

[0] - https://usea.org/sites/default/files/022011_Coal-to-oil,%20g...

[1] - https://coal.gov.in/sites/default/files/ncgm/ncgm21-09-21.pd...

Re: Colombia hosts talks on exiting fossil fuels as global energy crisis deepens

#76

Post by alephnerd »

applfanboysbgon wrote: post #73
alephnerd wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Even if these countries are a smaller part of the climate affecting processes, any forward motion is good at this point China, The US, and India all turned down invites despite generating 34%, 12%, and 7.6% of global emissions respectively [0] If the world's 3 largest polluters (even if two of them are heavily investing in GreenTech) who represent ~54% of global emissions are not interested in the conversation, it'…

It is beyond shameful how Westerners misallocate the blame for pollution, using misleading statistics. India has ~17% of the world's population. That it only produces 7% of global emissions means it is contributing far, far, far less than whatever country you possibly come from in relative terms, so at that point you are besmirching it solely for the crime of having a larger population than your country. China, while…

Climate change doesn't divvy impact based on per capita usage.

And large countries and blocs like the US, China, EU, India, etc would survive in a world with significant climate crises. So the incentive to change doesn't exist.

And this is why the world will burn.

Re: Colombia hosts talks on exiting fossil fuels as global energy crisis deepens

#77

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

mc32 wrote: post #69
altcognito wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was based on co2 emissions doubling by 2050. Though energy output has doubled, as a share coal has dropped in China and the US. Wouldn’t you expect estimates based on difficult to predict human behavior to change based on new data?

Many people were saying that things were not as dire as they claimed. I’m glad they revised but you had silly people gluing themselves to thoroughfares (cars stuck in traffic waste more energy) and vandalizing what some people consider precious art and or national patrimony in the name of climate change thinking that those most dire predictions were indeed correct and we were all headed to hell in a hand basket.

Ruined cars piled up in streets waste even more energy - temporarily.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/31/why-were-the-f...

Re: Colombia hosts talks on exiting fossil fuels as global energy crisis deepens

#78

Post by j-bos »

titzer wrote: post #72
scottious wrote: post #9

> “The mere fact that the conference is happening is already a success,” said Claudio Angelo, senior policy adviser at Brazil’s Climate Observatory, a network of environmental, civil society and academic groups The bar has been set so low that talking about it is seen as success now. Sometimes I think the only way we'll really make meaningful progress is if we simply run out of fossil fuels. Unfortunately, we're just…

There is so much coal . There is at least 130 years worth at current consumption levels. And despite what everyone says about renewables and green energy and etc, world use still hit a high in 2024. We aren't going to run out of (coal at least) for a long time--and usage is still going up!

But coal's essential as a backup in case of a dead (civilizational) restart.

Re: Colombia hosts talks on exiting fossil fuels as global energy crisis deepens

#79

Post by DangitBobby »

mc32 wrote: post #69
altcognito wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was based on co2 emissions doubling by 2050. Though energy output has doubled, as a share coal has dropped in China and the US. Wouldn’t you expect estimates based on difficult to predict human behavior to change based on new data?

Many people were saying that things were not as dire as they claimed. I’m glad they revised but you had silly people gluing themselves to thoroughfares (cars stuck in traffic waste more energy) and vandalizing what some people consider precious art and or national patrimony in the name of climate change thinking that those most dire predictions were indeed correct and we were all headed to hell in a hand basket.

So we are no longer worried about catastrophic or runaway climate change based on these revisions?

Re: Colombia hosts talks on exiting fossil fuels as global energy crisis deepens

#80

Post by jandrewrogers »

busterarm wrote: post #37
jl6 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ethanol is quite a useful thing to have though, as a multi-season stable store of energy. We will need to synthesise it (or other synfuels and feedstocks), to fully transition away from fossil sources, and that 10x efficiency factor will be essential, as synthesis is highly energy-lossy.

> Ethanol is quite a useful thing to have though, as a multi-season stable store of energy. Am I missing something? Ethanol is hydrophilic and hygroscopic. In concentrations used as a fuel (e.g., E85), it acts like a desiccant and spoils quickly. In a closed system this ends up with phase separation and the freed water causes engine corrosion. I'm not sure we want people running a still or molecular sieve in their ho…

Ethanol doesn't "spoil". It is a very stable molecule and miscible with water.

The main issue is that it has a strong affinity for water so it needs to be stored in containers that are sealed from the environment. The same issue exists with the ubiquitous ethanol/gasoline blends.

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