Earth Day and Super Polluters

As we approach Earth Day 2021, the world continues to struggle to address climate change and its causes. Goizueta Business School professor Wes Longhofer says there are ten coal-burning power plants worldwide that are major causes of global warming. He labels these “super polluters” and suggests that targeting these plants for change can have a significant impact.

The top ten polluting plants are in Taiwan (#1 and #8), South Korea (#2, #3, #5, #6), Poland (#4), Germany (#7), India (#6), and South Africa (#10).

Pollution isn’t just an economic or an engineering issue. Plants pollute at extremely high levels and rates due to a host of interconnected social structures such activism, political-legal systems, and social conditions.

Longhofer can discuss the energy and climate policies that can most effectively combat power-plant pollution.

It’s important to shift the conversation from consumers of carbon items and services to their producers, in much the same way that cancer caused by smoking was originally attributed to individuals’ lack of self-control, but later attributed to cigarette companies themselves

None of the Top Ten plants are in the US, but our coal burning power plants are still a major contributor of carbon emissions.

Plants that operate “more efficiently” can see a “backfire” effect where they actually emit more pollution.

More at http://cup.columbia.edu/book/super-polluters/9780231192170.