40+ countries vote to end coal

[MrPosti...@kymhorsell.com]

*More than 40 countries agree to phase out coal-fired power

Fiona Harvey, Jillian Ambrose and Patrick Greenfield, The Guardian via
Carbon Brief

A number of publications report on several coal power initiatives
launching at COP26, including a pledge by 40 countries to phase out
use of the fuel to generate electricity. The Guardian says major
coal-using economies including Poland, Ukraine and Vietnam have joined
a pledge to phase out coal power, with major economies doing so in the
"2030s" and others in the "2040s". It says that some of the world's
most coal-dependent economies, including Australia, China, India and
the US, are "missing from the deal". It adds: "Expert assessments have
found that for the world to stay within 1.5C, developed economies
should phase out coal before 2030, rather than in the 2030s as in the
deal announced on Wed night." [The IEA pathway to 1.5C published
earlier this year had developed countries phasing out coal power by
2030 and the world by 2040.]

According to the Financial Times, the UK "said the new initiative
would help to shut down 40GW [GWs] of coal power plants" in 20
countries.

The Press Association, via the Belfast Telegraph, says the UK-led
"coal-to-clean" transition statement commits signatories "to ending
all investment in new coal power generation domestically and
internationally and rapidly scaling up deployment of clean power
generation". It continues: "The statement also sees them commit to
phasing out coal power in economies in the 2030s for major economies
and the 2040s for the rest of the world and to ensure the shift away
from coal power is fair and benefits workers and communities." The
newswire adds: "More than 40 countries have signed up to the
statement, including 18 committing to phase out and not build or
invest in new coal power for the first time, such as Poland, Vietnam
and Chile, the UK govt said. Separately, 28 new members have
signed up to the UK-led `powering past coal alliance', to phase out
the use of the most polluting fossil fuel, including Chile, Singapore
and Durban."

BBC News reports under the headline: "190 nations and organisations
pledge to quit coal." It quotes UK business and energy secretary Kwasi
Kwarteng saying this means "the end of coal is in sight", but adds:
"Some of the world's biggest coal-dependent countries, including
Australia, India, China and the US, did not sign up to the pledge."
[Neither the article nor the UK govt press release include a
full list of the countries and organisations involved.]

Bloomberg says HSBC, NatWest and Lloyds are among lenders joining the
Powering Past Coal Alliance. The New York Times reports: "A coalition
of 18 countries, plus dozens of banks and other institutions, will
pledge to phase out coal-fired power plants domestically and to end
funding for international coal projects, according to the British
govt." It adds: "The new campaign, which is expected to be
announced by British officials on Thu in Glasgow, declares that
the end of coal `is in sight' because of the new coalition. The full
list of 18 countries was not available, but, according to the British
govt, it includes developed and developing countries like
Poland, Vietnam, Egypt, Chile and Morocco. It was unclear whether the
United States was part of the agreement.

A spokeswoman for John Kerry, President Biden's climate envoy, did not
respond to a request for comment." Reuters, BusinessGreen, the
Independent and the Daily Telegraph also have the story.

Separately, Reuters reports that the Asian Development Bank "launched
a plan on Wed to speed the closure of coal-fired power plants in
Indonesia and the Philippines".

In related news, the New York Times reports: "A group of philanthropic
foundations and international development banks on Wed announced
a $10.5bn fund to help emerging economies with growing energy needs
make the switch from fossil fuels to renewable sources. The group,
known as the Global Energy Alliance, aims to draw in more donors in
the coming weeks."

Meanwhile, Reuters reports: "China flagged on Wed it is
targeting a 1.8% reduction in average coal use for electricity
generation at power plants over the next 5 years, in a bid to lower
greenhouse gas emissions."

Sky News Asia correspondent Tom Cheshire reports from China's northern
provinces under the headline: "The future of our climate hangs on
China's hesitation to reduce coal usage."

A feature for CNN is titled: "Humanity needs to ditch coal to save
itself. It also needs to keep the lights on." For the Independent,
former Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable has a comment under the
headline: "The west has to work with China to `end coal' - purely
hectoring will achieve little."

China Dialogue has a feature titled: "Will recent power shortages slow
China's progress to carbon neutrality?" It says: "The leadership has
made power stability a top priority, but signalled that China's
climate targets won't be affected."

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