COP26: 190 nations, regions and organisations commit to major coal power and financing phase-outs

(EurActiv, 4 Nov 2021) A coalition of the world’s major economies, financial institutions and organisations have come together to accelerate efforts to phase-out coal generating capacity and financing for new fossil fuel projects at COP26. EURACTIV’s media partner, edie.net, reports.

The UK Government has confirmed that more than 190 parties, including China, Poland, and institutional financial organisations, have agreed to a range of different measures that will signal the end of coal as a global power source.

The commitments have been issued through a “Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement” at COP26 in Glasgow that captures coal phase-outs from developing countries, vulnerable nations and some of the world’s largest polluters.

The Statement confirms efforts from nations to end all investment in new coal and power generation, both domestically and internationally. Funding can instead be used to “rapidly scale up” deployment in clean power generation, the Statement notes.

Additionally, the coalition has agreed to phase-out coal power from major economies by 2030 and 2040 for the rest of the world. This, according to the Statement, will be delivered as part of a “just transition” that benefits workers and communities that currently rely on the coal industry.

It is believed the new commitments could signal the end of more than 40GW of coal across 20 countries. Since the ratification of the Paris Agreement, there has been a 76% decline in the number of new and planned coal plants globally, equating to the cancellation of more than 1000GW of fossil fuels.

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EurActiv, 4 Nov 2021: COP26: 190 nations, regions and organisations commit to major coal power and financing phase-outs