Government-Owned Power Plants Lag on Emissions Cuts, New Study Finds

New research from University of Colorado Boulder analyzed CO2 emissions from 13,661 fossil fuel power plants in 134 countries and found that government-owned plants are the biggest laggards. State-owned facilities made up 38% of the plants studied but produced 69% of emissions. On average, they emit about 910,000 metric tons of CO2 per year, roughly three times the average for investor-owned plants. Most climate policies, including carbon taxes, emissions trading, and coal phaseouts, did not significantly cut emissions from public utilities. Only renewable portfolio standards did. The study points to Eskom in South Africa as an example of a state utility with competing pressures: keep power cheap and available, support jobs, and still cut emissions. It suggests targeted emissions targets for public utilities, international financing, and plant-level reporting as practical steps.