A0620
Title: Transition out of coal: A model based framework
Authors: Stefan Wrzaczek - International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) (Austria) [presenting]
Dieter Grass - TU Vienna (Austria)
Michael Kuhn - International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Austria)
Alexia Prskawetz - TU Wien (Austria)
Omkar Patange - International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Austria)
Abstract: Coal is a major contributor to anthropogenic carbon emissions and climate change. Coal mining and combustion are also leading causes of premature mortality due to local air pollution. On the other hand, coal is central to many economies that rely on mining, transportation, energy production and exports. With the changing climate and rapidly depleting carbon budgets, the urgency for coal phase-out has become more prominent, and many economies are under pressure to transition away from coal in a time-bound manner. Since the coal phase-out is a medium- or long-term process, answering the research questions requires a dynamic consideration. Optimal pathways for a coal phase-out are studied within a small open regional economy consisting of a coal extraction sector, an energy sector composed of both coal-based and renewable power generation, final goods and a household sector that relies on coal and electricity. The conditions under which coal extraction and fossil power generation are phased out are studied depending on preferences, cost and price structures. A contribution is envisaged to the modelling framework to analyze regional coal phase-out policies and provide a systematic analysis of the dynamic processes associated with the social, economic, political and technical coal transitions in coal-based regional economies.
