Over 40 countries have agreed at the COP26 climate summit to phase out their use of coal-fired power generation. Major coal-using countries, including Canada, Poland, Ukraine, and Vietnam will phase out their use of coal for power generation by the 2030s, with smaller economies doing so by the 2040s. However, some of the world’s biggest coal-using economies, including Australia, China, India, and the USA, failed to sign the agreement.
The deal includes commitments from dozens of developing and developed countries to stop using coal, and over 100 financial institutions and other organisations have also agreed to stop financing coal development.
Kwasi Kwartend, UK’s Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, said: “Today marks a milestone moment in our global efforts to tackle climate change, as nations from all corners of the world unite in Glasgow to declare that coal has no part to play in our future power generation. Today’s ambitious commitments made by our international partners demonstrate that the end of coal is in sight.”