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
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."
PHOTO: The Hazelwood power station in Victoria's La Trobe Valley. (AAP: Greenpeace)
