5 ms·

Australia produced 19.6 tonnes of coal _per person_ in 2018. That's the highest in the world. I don't think it's in any position to be pointing fingers. [0] ht

by desdiv 7y ago

Australia produced 19.6 tonnes of coal _per person_ in 2018. That's the highest in the world. I don't think it's in any position to be pointing fingers. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_coal_production https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_coal_prod... 481.3 million tonnes of coal / 24.6 million people

nomercy400 7y ago
It's a bit strange to use the population density of Australia to make a point, as the population density of Australia is one of the lowest in the world (3). You're basically saying we should tackle Australia's 481 before China's 3523 or India's 716 or US' 702. Maybe we should tackle China first, as it is producing 45% of the world's coal, compared to 6% of Australia. Now if you were to say that Australia is the 5th biggest producer of coal in the world, that'd be a more convincing argument. I'm also surprised by Indonesia (6th). And the fact that Germany and Poland contribute 60% of the EU's (4th) coal production.
- pjc50 7y ago
  Much of Australia's coal is burned in China. Germany is a literal "black spot" in that the coal industry still has political muscle there, despite Germany's otherwise relatively strong (but still very much minority) green movement.
  - daemin 7y ago
    They [Germany] got rid of their environmentally friendly nuclear reactors in favour of burning more coal after Fukishima. They're doing a bit of solar but are burning ever more and more coal.
    - pjc50 7y ago
      Yeah, this was in my opinion an overreaction. The calculus for building a new reactor (expensive, time consuming) versus keeping an existing one going is very different. On the other hand, Germany had already experienced the Chernobyl cloud.
    - bjourne 7y ago
      Germany is burning LESS coal. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/coal-consumption-per-capita https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/coal-consumption-per-capi...
    - cygx 7y ago
      [Germans] are burning ever more and more coal We've missed our reduction goals, but reducton did happen (about 20% over the last 15 years, and the decrease has even been monotonic since 2013). I keep having to correct this on hackernews specifically. I have to wonder, is there some sort of concerted effort to lie about this?
      - nl 7y ago
        is there some sort of concerted effort to lie about this? Yeah, there is a strong pro-nuclear group on HN who believe it has unfairly been targeted.
      - daemin 7y ago
        It would still be more now than if the reactors had not been shut down right? I guess I should not throw stones since both countries I live in are worse than this. Specifically they dig out more and more coal every year without stopping.
- perilunar 7y ago
  > Maybe we should tackle China first, as it is producing 45% of the world's coal, compared to 6% of Australia. Who is 'we', and how do you suggest 'we' tackle China first? Each country has to take care of its own emissions — we can’t wait for China to act first.

by desdiv 7y ago

nomercy400 7y ago

It's a bit strange to use the population density of Australia to make a point, as the population density of Australia is one of the lowest in the world (3). You're basically saying we should tackle Australia's 481 before China's 3523 or India's 716 or US' 702. Maybe we should tackle China first, as it is producing 45% of the world's coal, compared to 6% of Australia. Now if you were to say that Australia is the 5th biggest producer of coal in the world, that'd be a more convincing argument. I'm also surprised by Indonesia (6th). And the fact that Germany and Poland contribute 60% of the EU's (4th) coal production.

pjc50 7y ago
Much of Australia's coal is burned in China. Germany is a literal "black spot" in that the coal industry still has political muscle there, despite Germany's otherwise relatively strong (but still very much minority) green movement.
- daemin 7y ago
  They [Germany] got rid of their environmentally friendly nuclear reactors in favour of burning more coal after Fukishima. They're doing a bit of solar but are burning ever more and more coal.
  - pjc50 7y ago
    Yeah, this was in my opinion an overreaction. The calculus for building a new reactor (expensive, time consuming) versus keeping an existing one going is very different. On the other hand, Germany had already experienced the Chernobyl cloud.
  - bjourne 7y ago
    Germany is burning LESS coal. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/coal-consumption-per-capita https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/coal-consumption-per-capi...
  - cygx 7y ago
    [Germans] are burning ever more and more coal We've missed our reduction goals, but reducton did happen (about 20% over the last 15 years, and the decrease has even been monotonic since 2013). I keep having to correct this on hackernews specifically. I have to wonder, is there some sort of concerted effort to lie about this?
    - nl 7y ago
      is there some sort of concerted effort to lie about this? Yeah, there is a strong pro-nuclear group on HN who believe it has unfairly been targeted.
    - daemin 7y ago
      It would still be more now than if the reactors had not been shut down right? I guess I should not throw stones since both countries I live in are worse than this. Specifically they dig out more and more coal every year without stopping.
perilunar 7y ago
> Maybe we should tackle China first, as it is producing 45% of the world's coal, compared to 6% of Australia. Who is 'we', and how do you suggest 'we' tackle China first? Each country has to take care of its own emissions — we can’t wait for China to act first.