Looks like coal could be on the way out albeit it may be a gradual
decline over time. Wonder what the political implications in
Australia are given coal still figures heavily in the energy mix and
given we are a massive exporter of the stuff. .
"Powering Past Coal Alliance: 20 countries sign up to phase out coal power by 2030
Updated about 3 hours ago
PHOTO: The Hazelwood power station in Victoria's La Trobe Valley. (AAP: Greenpeace)
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MAP: Germany
Twenty countries including Britain, Canada and New Zealand have joined an international alliance to phase out coal from power generation before 2030.
The Powering Past Coal Alliance was unveiled at the COP23 climate talks in Bonn, Germany, which were working out the technical details of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
"I think we can safely say that the response has been overwhelming," Canadian Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said.
"There is so much momentum, there is so much ambition in this room."
The alliance, which isn't legally binding, was launched days after a pro-coal presentation by the Trump administration jarred with many ministers who wanted the talks to focus on cleaner energy sources.
Included countries:
- Angola
- Austria
- Belgium
- Britain
- Canada
- Costa Rica
- Denmark
- El Salvador
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- The Marshall Islands
- Mexico
- The Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Niue
- Portugal
- Switzerland
Australia isn't part of the alliance, which also doesn't include some of the world's biggest coal users China, India, the United States, Germany and Russia.
Coal is responsible for more than 40 per cent of global emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
"Around the world we see close to a million deaths a year from air pollution created by burning coal," Ms McKenna said.
"Not only is there a human cost, there is also a huge economic cost totalling billions of dollars a year."
Since signing the Paris Agreement, several countries had already made national plans to phase out coal from their power supply mix.
The Powering Past Coal Alliance also involves sharing technology to reduce emissions, such as carbon capture and storage, and encouraging the rest of the world to cut usage.
We asked what you thought of Australia staying out of the Powering Past Coal Alliance. Read the discussion in the comments.
The alliance aims to have at least 50 members by the next UN climate summit in 2018 to be held in Poland’s Katowice, one of Europe's most polluted cities."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-...ed-up-to-phase-out-coal-power-by-2030/9161056
