Cop26. 190 countries commit to abandoning coal, the most polluting fossil fuel

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November 04, 2021A coalition of 18 countries pledged to phase out coal-fired power plants nationwide and to end funding all international projects with the dirtiest fossil fuel in the world. The agreement was reached in Glasgow. This was announced by the British government. There are 190 countries and organizations in total signatories, all pledging to accelerate the phasing out of coal and rapidly increase the uptake of clean energy production. Among the signatory countries are countries that make a great use of coal, such as Poland, Vietnam and Chile. However, other 'big ones' have not signed, including Australia, India, China and the United States. 

The agreement, signed today, includes a commitment to avoid investments in new coal plants at home and abroad and to phase out the production of coal-fired energy by the decade of 2030 in the richest countries and in the following one in the Poorer countries.

The British government, which coordinated the deal and made the announcement overnight, is shouting for success. "The end of coal is approaching," the Minister of Trade and Energy, Kwasi Kwarteng, assured in a statement. "The world is moving in the right direction, ready to close the coal season and embrace the environmental and economic benefits of building a future powered by clean energy."

More than 40 countries have signed the declaration, but 18 - including Poland, Vietnam and Chile - have made a commitment to do so for the first time. Coal is the most polluting fossil fuel and the greenhouse gas emissions from its combustion are the main cause of climate change. Giving up coal is considered vital to achieving climate goals, i.e. limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. 

"The end of coal is in sight. In these two years we have managed to stifle the financing of coal and we see a change in the policies of the countries. All those in the G7 are committed to quitting, recently South Korea and China have also done so. . Other countries such as Morocco and Indonesia have pledged to stop building power plants. The goal is to end the use of coal in 2030 in developed countries and in 2040 in others ". Cop26 President Alok Sharma said this this morning in Glasgow, opening the day dedicated to energy.

The Asian Development Bank has announced its intention to launch a new fund that will buy coal-fired income to hasten its closure, thus launching a new approach to the energy transition. The Fond, which will be called Energy Transition Mechanism, will have an initial endowment of between 2.5 and 3.5 billion dollars and will focus on the purchase of plants in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Coal as we remembered is the dirtiest fossil fuel in terms of emissions but is still predominantly used to generate energy in regions such as Asia.

The program aims to shut down 50 percent of coal-fired power plants in these three countries, which would cost between $ 30 and $ 60 billion, explained David Elzinga, senior energy specialist at the Asian Development Bank.