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2018 (English)In: Joule, E-ISSN 2542-4351, Vol. 2, no 12, p. 2633-2648Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Concerns have been voiced that implementing climate change mitigation measures could come at the cost of employment, especially in the context of the US coal sector. However, repurposing US coal plants presents an opportunity to address emission mitigation and job creation, if the right technology change is adopted. In this study, the transformation of the US coal sector until 2050 is modeled to achieve ambitious climate targets. Results show that the costoptimal strategy for meeting 2050 emission reductions consistent with 2 degrees C stabilization pathways is through the early deployment of BECCS and by replacing 50% of aging coal plants with natural gas plants. This strategy addresses the concerns surrounding employment for coal workers by retaining 40,000 jobs, and creating 22,000 additional jobs by mid-century. Climate change mitigation does not have to come at the cost of employment, and policymakers could seek to take advantage of the social co-benefits of mitigation.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
CELL PRESS, 2018
National Category
Economics and Business Energy Systems
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-42304 (URN)10.1016/j.joule.2018.10.004 (DOI)000453896100016 ()2-s2.0-85059616029 (Scopus ID)
2019-01-102019-01-102020-11-27Bibliographically approved