190 countries and organisations pledge to end coal era

The UK government announced that 190 countries including China, Japan and Korea, the three largest public financiers of coal, commit to end overseas finance for coal generation by the end of 2021.

Coal is the most polluting fossil fuel that adds to the emissions that affect global climate. Hence, pledging to end the usage of coal power fired plant is a a major step in the battle of winning for climate.

“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,” The UK’s Business & Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said in a statement. 

According to the UK government, the new ‘Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement’,includes different countries that are vulnerable to climate change, 18 countries committing for the first time to phase out and not build or invest in new coal power, such as Poland, Vietnam, and Chile.

The announcement means that coal power will be phased out in economies in the 2030s for major economies and 2040s for the rest of the world.