U.K., Canada Lead Anti-Coal Power Charge

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--An alliance of 20 European and other global countries and provinces led by the U.K. and Canada have banded together to end the use of coal-fired power before 2030.

The Powering Past Coal Alliance, which also includes France, Italy, New Zealand and the Netherlands, wants coal removed from future electricity production. The group made its intentions known at the recent COP23 energy and environmental talks in Bonn, Germany, and said it expects to have 50 nations and states on board by the time next year's round of talks is held in Poland, Europe's largest user of coal-fired power. Notably, large coal users, including Germany, China and the U.S., have not joined the group although the U.S. state of Washington has.

The call comes at a time when coal-fired power is under increased pressure on the emissions front from the European Union (EU) and competition from cleaner forms of electricity such as renewables, nuclear and even gas-fired power is increasing. In the U.K., the phasing out of coal has been rapid in recent years. Coal-fired power generated about 40% of the country's electricity in 2012, but by 2016 it had dropped to 9%, and this summer in July hit an all time low of just 2%. Industrial Info has reported on the U.K. government's plans to shut all coal-fired power plants within a decade, by 2025. For additional information, see November 23, 2015, article - U.K. Calls Time on Coal-Fired Power.

"We have not sacrificed growth," Claire Perry, the U.K.'s minister for climate change and industry, told media, defending the rapid phasing out of coal. "Since 1990, Britain has cut its emissions by 42% and our economy has grown by 67%; that's the best performance in the G7, so this is not something that's a win-lose, it's a win-win situation."

Reacting to the launch of the U.K.-Canada coal phase-out alliance, Sporton said: "With the world set to use fossil fuels, including coal, for the foreseeable future, Canada and the U.K. should direct efforts to advancing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology because that's much more likely to achieve global climate objectives than unrealistic calls to eliminate coal in major emerging economies. We need to be resolute in our efforts to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture and storage technologies, which will be critical to achieving global climate objectives. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been clear--we cannot achieve global climate objectives without CCS."

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