A group of 190 countries, regions and companies will agree to commit to the end of coal power at the Cop26 climate summit, the UK government has announced.
Major coal countries Poland and Vietnam are among 18 nations committing to phase out the use of the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel for the first time, the government said.
Coal-fired power is the single largest driver of global temperature rise and ending its use will be crucial to getting the world on track for limiting global temperatures to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, the aspiration of the Paris Agreement.
Labour’s shadow business secretary Ed Miliband added that major polluters were missing from the agreement.
Any progress towards powering past coal is welcome, but glaring gaps remain
He said
Coal-fired power is the single largest driver of global temperature rise and ending its use will be crucial to getting the world on track for limiting global temperatures to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, the aspiration of the Paris Agreement.
Announcing the news, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said it marked “a milestone moment in our global efforts to tackle climate change”.
Nations agreeing to a new UK-led statement have committed to ending all investment in new coal power generation at home and overseas, the government said.
Earlier, the summit adopted a declaration on reducing methane emissions by 30% by 2030 and a declaration on the introduction of green technologies. Also, more than 100 leaders of countries with 85% of the world’s forests have promised to stop deforestation by 2030.