A coalition of 190 countries and organisations has come together at COP26 to announce clear commitments to phase out coal power.
Today’s commitments include the new “Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement” that commits nations to end all investment in new coal power generation while rapidly scaling up deployment of clean power generation.
But Iberdrola chairman and CEO Ignacio Galan has demanded action to close down all existing coal-fired generation.
He said: “We need to close down coal completely, and demolish those stations.
“Otherwise, when we have short term market issues, there is always a temptation to run them again. There is no place for coal in a modern energy system.”
Eighteen countries are committing for the first time to phase out and not build or invest in new coal power, including Poland, Vietnam, and Chile, marking a milestone moment at COP26 in the global clean energy transition.
The statement also includes a goal of phasing out coal power in economies in the 2030s for major economies and 2040s for the rest of the world while making a transition away from coal power in way that benefits workers and communities.
This is on top of China, Japan and Korea, the three largest public financiers of coal, committing to end overseas finance for coal generation by the end of 2021, announced in the last year during the UK’s incoming COP26 Presidency.
Agreements at the G7, G20 and OECD to end public international coal finance “send a strong signal” that the world economy is shifting to renewables.
This could end over 40GW of coal across 20 countries, equivalent to over half of the UK’s electricity generating capacity.
UK Business & Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng (pictured) said: “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”.
Today 28 new members have today signed up to the world’s largest alliance on phasing out coal, the Powering Past Coal Alliance launched and co-chaired by the UK.
Chile, Singapore and Durban have today joined over 150 countries, sub-nationals and businesses, including finance partners NatWest, Lloyds Banking, HSBC and Export Development Canada. This accounts for over $17 trillion assets now committed to PPCA coal phase out goals.
The UK’s COP26 Energy Transition Council (ETC) mobilises and coordinates the assistance required to enable coal intensive economies to equitably transition from coal, bringing together 20 governments and over 15 international institutions to accelerate the transition from coal to clean power as part of a green economic recovery.