French Power-Plant Emissions Rebound After Gas-to-Coal Switches
- Carbon pollution may rise again this year on nuclear outages
- CO2 intensity of power mix still among world’s lowest: report
A coal power plant in Carling, France.
Photographer: Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/AFP/Getty Images
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Greenhouse-gas emissions from France’s power sector increased 10% last year as rising natural-gas prices pushed electricity producers to switch to dirtier coal, the nation’s grid operator said.
Utilities’ emissions rose to 18.8 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, returning to its 2019 pre-pandemic level, Reseau de Transport d’Electricite said in a report released Friday. And they may jump again this year because of nuclear-plant outages.