‘The end of coal is in sight’: Scores of nations join pledge to phase-out coal power
Poland, Vietnam, Egypt, Chile, Singapore, and Morocco among wave of nations to commit to ending use of unabated coal power
The UK has today proclaimed “the end of coal is in sight” worldwide, having secured a wave of fresh phase-out commitments from coal-reliant countries in a major signal the world is now rapidly turning away from the single-biggest contributor to climate change.
The British government announced this evening that it has built a 190-strong coalition of countries and organisations at COP26 committed to ending the use of and support for coal power, with 18 nations including Poland, Vietnam, Egypt, Chile, and Morocco for the first time announcing clear end-dates for coal power and coal financing.
A statement released today – dubbed the Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement – has been signed by a host of developed and developing countries, including both major coal users and climate vulnerable nations. The UK government hailed the agreement as “a milestone moment in the global energy transition”.
The statement commits the 190 signatory nations and organisations to ending all investment in new coal power generation both domestically and internationally, and to rapidly scaling up the deployment of clean power generation.
It also commits major economies to phasing out coal power in the 2030s, with countries in the rest of the world supporting phase out dates in the 2040s at the latest, although specific dates for each of the new signatories have not yet been revealed.
The statement also emphasises the importance of delivering a just transition away from the energy source in a way that benefits affected workers and communities, the UK said.
This latest statement, on top of pledges in the last year from China, Japan, and South Korea and the G20 to end overseas financing of coal power plants, could remove over 40GW of coal-fired power generation across 20 countries, which equates to around half of the UK’s power capacity.
“Today marks a milestone moment in our global efforts to tackle climate change as nations from all corners of the world unite in Glasgow to declare that coal has no part to play in our future power generation,” said the UK’s Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.
“Spearheaded by the UK’s COP26 Presidency, today’s ambitious commitments made by our international partners demonstrate that the end of coal is in sight,” he added. “The world is moving in the right direction, standing ready to seal coal’s fate and embrace the environmental and economic benefits of building a future that is powered by clean energy.”
Bringing an end to the burning of coal for energy is one of the single biggest priorities if the world is to stand a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5C by the end of the century, and has been one of the UK’s top priorities in its role as host of COP26.
The government also said 28 new members had joined the Power Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) spearheaded by the UK and Canada, which now boasts over 150 countries, sub-national governments, and businesses, including financial partners such as NatWest, Lloyds Banking, HSBC and Export Development Canada.
Altogether, it means the PPCA now accounts for over $17tr in assets which are committed to coal-phase out goals. Over 90 per cent of the world’s coal use is now covered by either phase-out targets or mid-century net zero emissions goals.
The announcement will deal a further blow to the global coal sector, which has already seen a 76 per cent cut in the number of new coal plants planned globally over the last six years, equating to the cancellation of around 1GW of new coal plants since the Paris Agreement in 2015.
In addition to the coal-phase out commitments, the UK is set to also launch a new International Just Transition Declaration, to which 12 countries and the EU Commission have so far signed up, committing them to ensuring the shift away from coal power is one that delivers high quality new jobs and “champions local social dialogue in developing and emerging economies”.
The announcement follows a slew of fresh climate pledges since the start of COP26 this week, with India pledging to ramp up its renewable power capacity targets for 2030, and South Africa striking a landmark deal with the UK, USA and EU to help finance its shift away from coal power.
Further pledges and coalitions on cutting down on fossil fuels are expected today and throughout the remainder of the Summit, with Denmark and Costa Rica later expected to unveil the list of countries which have signed up to their Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance.
Green groups and energy experts welcomed the new coal pledges, hailing them as a clear signal that coal represents a rapidly dying market for the electricity sector.
Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, said the commitments on coal made in Glasgow “made it abundantly clear that coal will be consigned to history in the coming decades”.
But he also stressed the importance of consigning as much coal burning to history as possible within the 2020s in order to stand a chance of keeping temperature rise limited to 1.5C.
“Given the urgency of emission reductions to keep the Paris agreement goal in sight, and the heavy burden of air pollution on public health, it is however essential for countries to firm up their targets for this decade,” Myllyvirta said. “This includes countries like China, India and Vietnam that are still planning a substantial amount of new coal-fired power plants, as well as South Korea, Japan and other developed countries that are yet to set a phase-out timeline for their coal power plants that would align with their carbon neutrality commitments.”
The latest announcements come ahead of the ‘Energy Day’ at COP26 on Thursday, where further major pledges of restructing fossil fuel financing and ramping up clean energy capacity globally are expected.
