Great Britain declares the end of the coal era
The reason given is an increase in carbon emissions
At the UN climate conference on Thursday, the coal phase-out was supported by 23 other countries, but rejected by major users of the dirtiest of all fuels that cause global warming.
The COP26 summit is hoping to find ways to meet the goal of limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius, but the scale of the challenge has been underscored by a study showing carbon emissions are back close to that level from before the pandemic.
Greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal are the single largest contributor to climate change, and weaning from coal is seen as critical to meeting global climate goals.
The commitment to phase out coal does not apply to Australia, India, the United States and China, where around half of the world's coal-fired power plants are and more are to be built.
Carbon dioxide emissions fell 5.4% in 2020 as the economy stalled, but the new Global Carbon Project report predicts emissions will increase by 4.9% this year.
"We expected some recovery," said the report's lead author, Pierre Friedlingstein, a climate modeler at the University of Exeter.
"What surprised us was the intensity and speed".
The report strongly reminded those responsible in Glasgow of the challenge of preventing global warming of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.
According to the United Nations, an increase of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius would have far more catastrophic effects on the climate than the increasing storms, heat waves, droughts and floods that have already been observed.
"I think we can say the end of coal is in sight," said Alok Sharma, UK president of the two-week summit, as he outlined a commitment to phase out existing coal-fired power plants and stop building new ones.
The non-binding commitment "has 77 signatories, including 46 countries such as Poland, Vietnam and Chile, 23 of which are making commitments to phase out coal for the first time," he said.
The richer countries agreed to phase out coal power by the 2030s, the poorer by the 2040s. Poland said it was aiming for the 2040s - after previously pledging to phase out coal in 2049. Indonesia did not agree to the part of the agreement that provides for the termination of funding for new coal-fired power plants.
Today, more than a third of the world's electricity is generated with coal-fired power plants. Many developing countries currently rely on cheap, easily accessible coal to boost their economies, as developed countries have done since the industrial revolution of the 19th century, despite the environmental and public health costs.
'CAN'T CELEBRATE'
The International Energy Agency (IEA), the global regulator for the energy sector, said the net-zero emissions and methane-reduction pledges announced at COP26, if met, would enable the world to keep warming below 2 Degree limit.
"A new @ IEA analysis shows that the full implementation of all previous net zero pledges and the global methane pledge by the signatories would limit global warming to 1.8 degrees," wrote IEA chief Fatih Birol on Twitter ( NYSE: TWTR).
Selwin Hart, Special Advisor to the U.N. Secretary General on Climate Action, disagreed with Birol's claim.
"Fatih, I heard your numbers. But based on the NDCs that were presented, the world is on a 2.7 degree path - a disastrous path," said Hart in Glasgow.
"And that's why we're far from reaching the 1.5C target of the Paris Agreement. We can't be complacent. We can't celebrate until we've done our job," he added.
FINANCING GAP
The UN Environment Program said poorer countries need five to ten times more money to adapt to the effects of climate change than they are currently receiving.
The richer countries have missed the 2020 deadline for providing $ 100 billion a year in "climate finance".
Financial issues were also at the heart of the COP26 coal deal, which some countries said they couldn't meet without more financial help.
"We need funds to get out of coal earlier and build new capacities for renewable energies," said Indonesia's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati. The Southeast Asian country is the largest coal exporter in the world and uses the fuel for 65% of its own energy capacity.
It will also be among the earliest recipients of a multi-billion dollar pilot program to accelerate the clean energy transition, along with India, South Africa and the Philippines, according to the Climate Investment Funds.
The main goal of COP26 is to get commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to put the world on a clear path to contain global temperature increases, which have increased by 1.1 ° C since pre-industrial times.