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They’ve been having a lot of coal problems lately and I don’t believe Xi’s pledges anymore. They are heavily dependent on coal and the main reason we have a cl

They’ve been having a lot of coal problems lately and I don’t believe Xi’s pledges anymore. They are heavily dependent on coal and the main reason we have a climate crisis. I will be happy when they stop polluting but I won’t cheer on any more of his false promises.

ren_engineer 5y ago
article actually mentions that their modular reactor designs can be retrofitted into existing coal power plants. No clue if it will work, but it seems like a genius plan. Obviously it could be propaganda to deflect all the criticism they get for being the world's largest polluter
- rich_sasha 5y ago
  This is a general point about proposed SMRs (small module reactors). They could just slot into existing brownfield sites. They are small enough that the exclusion zone around them (in case something goes mildly wrong) is compatible with the grounds of typical coal plants and factories. The inherent stronger safety means you don’t have to be as careful (no need for enormous security, you can bury them underground etc). They also aren’t yet operational anywhere so this is a bit of a wish list atm. Without negating any of the risks, I still think nuclear is way better than coal at the moment.
mytailorisrich 5y ago
Many countries are still heavily dependent on coal, including many much richer per capita than China. China has been invested in nuclear for decades with several power plants coming online in the past couple of years and many more under construction right now. They also have an extensive hydro power programme. Having a population of 1.4 billion and being the workshop of the world does require a lot of energy and a lot of their emissions are in fact ours that be delocalised there along with the factories.
officialjunk 5y ago
The US has contributed more than any other country to carbon emissions, at double China's emissions so far. https://ourworldindata.org/contributed-most-global-co2 https://ourworldindata.org/contributed-most-global-co2
- newbamboo 5y ago
  Historical arguments are stupid. What happened 1000 years ago doesn’t matter now. China didn’t even show up to the world summit. They didn’t even show up!
  - s1artibartfast 5y ago
    It doesn't even need to be a historical argument. The US emmits 2x the carbon per person today
9999px 5y ago
That pollution is due to exported goods – the US and other western countries are essentially offloading their pollution to China, who is more than happy to take the cash and greenify their own infrastructure.

ren_engineer 5y ago

article actually mentions that their modular reactor designs can be retrofitted into existing coal power plants. No clue if it will work, but it seems like a genius plan. Obviously it could be propaganda to deflect all the criticism they get for being the world's largest polluter

rich_sasha 5y ago
This is a general point about proposed SMRs (small module reactors). They could just slot into existing brownfield sites. They are small enough that the exclusion zone around them (in case something goes mildly wrong) is compatible with the grounds of typical coal plants and factories. The inherent stronger safety means you don’t have to be as careful (no need for enormous security, you can bury them underground etc). They also aren’t yet operational anywhere so this is a bit of a wish list atm. Without negating any of the risks, I still think nuclear is way better than coal at the moment.

mytailorisrich 5y ago

Many countries are still heavily dependent on coal, including many much richer per capita than China. China has been invested in nuclear for decades with several power plants coming online in the past couple of years and many more under construction right now. They also have an extensive hydro power programme. Having a population of 1.4 billion and being the workshop of the world does require a lot of energy and a lot of their emissions are in fact ours that be delocalised there along with the factories.

officialjunk 5y ago

The US has contributed more than any other country to carbon emissions, at double China's emissions so far. https://ourworldindata.org/contributed-most-global-co2 https://ourworldindata.org/contributed-most-global-co2

newbamboo 5y ago
Historical arguments are stupid. What happened 1000 years ago doesn’t matter now. China didn’t even show up to the world summit. They didn’t even show up!
- s1artibartfast 5y ago
  It doesn't even need to be a historical argument. The US emmits 2x the carbon per person today

9999px 5y ago

That pollution is due to exported goods – the US and other western countries are essentially offloading their pollution to China, who is more than happy to take the cash and greenify their own infrastructure.