通用电气——这家世界上最大的燃煤电厂制造商之一的美国企业集团宣布将退出新建煤炭市场，这引起了业界对已经在建的煤炭企业的质疑。
An Australian non-profit said General Electric’s (GE) announcement that the American conglomerate, one of the world’s biggest makers of coal-fired power plants, would exit the new build coal market raises questions about coal ventures already in the pipeline.
一直呼吁银行和企业放弃煤炭的Market Forces在一份新闻稿中表示，9月22日宣布的这一举动是给陷入困境的煤炭行业的又一致命一击，但通用电气尚未对16个国家共18个将使用其设备的拟议煤电项目的命运作出说明。While the move, announced on 22 September, represents another nail in the coffin for the ailing coal sector, the company has yet to shed light on the fate of a total of 18 proposed coal power projects in 16 countries that would use its equipment, said Market Forces, which has been calling on banks and firms to ditch coal, in a press release.
“通用电气的公告对气候和公司底线而言是个好消息，”Market Forces执行董事Julien Vincent说。“GE’s announcement is good news for the climate and for the company’s bottom line,” said Market Forces executive director Julien Vincent.
“现在最大的问题是通用电气账面上大量的项目将发生什么，”他观察到。“在通用电气因此举获得太多赞誉之前，需要对这18个规划中的燃煤电站进行澄清。”“The big question now is what happens to the raft of projects GE has on its books,” he observed. “Before GE gets too many plaudits for its move, there needs to be clarity on these 18 planned coal-fired power stations.”
根据Market Forces的数据，这些位于孟加拉国、印度尼西亚、印度、菲律宾和越南等地的相关电厂的产能相当于德克萨斯州煤电产能的两倍多，并且在其生命周期内还会向大气中增加排放25亿吨二氧化碳。The plants concerned—which are sited in Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, the Philippines and Vietnam, among others—are the equivalent of more than doubling Texas’ coal power capacity, and would add another 2.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere over their lifetime, according to Market Forces.
Eco-Business已经联系了通用电气征求意见。Eco-Business has reached out to GE for comment.
Eco-Business在一份声明中表示，退出“可能”包括剥离资产、关闭电厂以及裁员，但会“在现有义务上下功夫”。通用电气高级副总裁Russell Stokes表示，该公司将继续为现有电厂提供服务。The company said in a statement the exit “may” include divestitures, site closings as well as job cuts, but that it would “work on existing obligations”. Russell Stokes, GE’s senior vice president, indicated the company would keep servicing existing power plants.
“我们在追求退出新建煤电市场的同时，将继续支持并帮助客户以经济高效的方式保持现有电厂的运行，”他说。“As we pursue this exit from the new build coal power market, we will continue to support our customers, helping them to keep their existing plants running in a cost-effective and efficient way,” he said.
退出煤电市场的决定是在美国对清洁能源的接受度越来越高的情况下做出的，此前通用电气的煤电业务已经历数年的破坏性发展。Stokes表示，通用电气“专注于具有吸引力的经济性和增长轨迹的发电业务”。The decision to pull out of the coal market comes as the acceptance of clean energy in the United States grows and follows several devastating years for the firm’s coal power business. Stokes said GE was “focused on power generation businesses that have attractive economics and growth trajectory”.
根据Market Forces的数据，通用电气2016年至2018年市值下降了74%，2018年火电设备制造收入下降了22%。2018年和2019年，通用电气电力部门的现金流分别为负23亿美元和负15亿美元。According to Market Forces, GE’s market capitalisation fell by 74 per cent between 2016 and 2018, with revenues for thermal equipment manufacturing down 22 per cent in 2018. In 2018 and 2019, GE’s power segment reported negative cash flows of US$2.3 billion and US$1.5 billion, respectively.
Vincent表示，通用电气进军煤炭的失败，对于其余少数仍在经营的企业来说，应该是一个警示，比如德国的西门子、日本的东芝和韩国的斗山，后者最近获得了韩国政府20亿美元的疫情救助资金。Vincent said GE’s failed venture into coal should serve as a cautionary tale for the remaining handful of corporations still in the business, such as Germany’s Siemens, Japan’s Toshiba and South Korea’s Doosan, which recently received a US$2 billion coronavirus bailout from the South Korean government.
对于电子巨头三星来说，这也应该是一个警钟，该公司最近宣布其建筑部门三星物产可能会在越南建设拟议中的Vung Ang 2燃煤电厂，从而引发了一场关于强调该项目对环境和社会影响的活动。It should also be a wakeup call for electronic giant Samsung, which recently announced its construction arm, Samsung C&T, could build the proposed Vung Ang 2 coal-fired power plant in Vietnam, prompting a campaign that highlights the environmental and social impact of the project.
“通用电气进军煤电领域灾难性的尝试，应该是对其他人明确的警告，” Vincent说。“三星物产等公司应该谨慎介入类似Vung Ang 2的项目，接下通用电气的烂摊子。这些项目一再被证明是坏消息，不仅对气候不利，而且对公司的底线和品牌也不利。”“GE’s catastrophic foray into coal power should be a clear warning to others,” said Vincent. “Companies such as Samsung C&T should be wary of stepping in to pick up GE’s trash in projects such as Vung Ang 2. These projects have proven, time and again, to be bad news, not just for the climate, but for companies’ bottom line and brand.”
通用电气一直是Vung Ang 2项目背后的工程、采购和施工承包商之一，并且没有透露其煤炭退出是否会撤出这个有争议的项目。GE has been one of the engineering, procurement and construction contractors behind the Vung Ang 2 project and it has not disclosed whether its coal exit will see it withdraw from the controversial venture.
多年来，Vung Ang 2项目因其可能加剧空气污染和助长气候变化而屡屡成为民间团体的目标。包括渣打银行和华侨银行在内的多家金融机构已退出通用电气，理由是与收紧的贷款准则相冲突。Over the years, the project has been repeatedly targeted by civil society groups for its potential to exacerbate air pollution and fuel climate change. A number of financial institutions including Standard Chartered Bank and OCBC Bank have pulled out of the venture, citing conflicts with tightened lending guidelines.
2020年3月，来自16个国家的65个环保组织组成的国际联盟发起了一场针对通用电气的新的大型运动，敦促该企业集团停止为其所在国的煤炭行业提供设备，并使其业务与《巴黎协定》的目标保持一致。In March, an international coalition of 65 environmental groups from 16 nations launched a major new campaign against GE, urging the conglomerate to stop supplying equipment for the coal industry in their countries and align its business with the goals of the Paris climate deal.
通用电气的这一消息是在美国总统大选之前宣布的，在这次大选中，争夺总统职位的候选人对化石燃料的看法截然不同，现任总统特朗普支持 "美丽 "的煤炭，而拜登则呼吁采取更强硬的政策来应对全球变暖。GE’s announcement comes ahead of a presidential election in the United States, in which the rivals vying for the presidency hold starkly different views on fossil fuels, with incumbent Donald Trump championing “beautiful” coal and Joe Biden calling for tougher policies to fight global warming.

来源：igdp