A series of major initiatives are being announced today (4 November) at COP26 to encourage the phase out of coal for electricity generation. Coal accounts for more than 35 per cent of the world’s power. In the biggest victory so far for COP26 regarding the critical need to keep fossil fuels in the ground, dozens of countries – including many major coal-burning economies – have pledged to phase out coal for electricity generation.
“Today, I think we can say that the end of coal is in sight,” said COP26 President Alok Sharma. “Who’d have thought, [in 2019], that today we are able to say we are choking off international coal financing or that we would see a shift away from domestic coal power?”
His comments were echoed by Leo Roberts of climate think tank E3G, who said: “The past few days in Glasgow have shown that momentum away from coal is gathering pace, with new partnerships, tools, and money coming together to consign coal to history […] these announcements...