Thursday 4 November 2021

COP26: Energy Day in Glasgow kicks off with an ‘end in sight’ for coal

Energy Day begins today at COP26 raising delegates' hopes that the end of coal power is in sight after the UK Government has secured a commitment from a group of 190 countries and organisations to phase out coal generation.

The coalition includes countries that are highly dependent on fossil fuels such as Poland, Chile, Morocco, Vietnam and Egypt.

The so-called 'Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement’, which involves developed, developing countries and major coal users will see 18 countries committing for the first time to phase out and not build or invest in new coal power.

The statement commits nations to end all investment in new coal power generation domestically and internationally, to phase out coal power in economies in the 2030s for major economies and 2040s for the rest of the world and scale up renewable energy generation.

Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “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.

“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.

"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”.