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Seven countries announced new commitments to accelerate the transition from coal to clean energy at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which this year is chaired by the United Arab Emirates.
The United States, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Iceland, Iceland, Kosovo, Norway, Norway and Cyprus joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance, an alliance of national and international governments and organizations working to accelerate the transition from coal to clean energy.
The countries announced a commitment not to develop new coal-fired power plants and to phase out existing coal plants.
US to decarbonize electricity sector by 2035
The US, the world’s third largest coal country, aims to decarbonize its electricity sector by 2035, while the Czech Republic plans to decarbonize its electricity sector by 2033 and Kosovo by 2050. The Dominican Republic has committed to preparing a coal phase-out strategy.
Cyprus, Iceland and Norway have joined the alliance to accelerate the transition from coal to clean energy, despite the fact that they currently have no coal plants in operation.
‘It will exert pressure on other countries’
Leo Roberts, Program Leader at the think tank E3G, commented on the new commitments of the countries:
“The US’s commitment to phase out coal in line with the Paris climate goals is crucial for emissions reductions. It is also symbolically groundbreaking for the world’s largest economy to commit to a rapid transition away from the world’s most polluting fossil fuel. We are now at a point where more than 80 percent of OECD countries are members of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, and this is putting them on a path to phase out coal in line with the goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This exerts significant pressure on the few countries that have not yet made a commitment, notably Japan, Australia and South Korea.”
‘Not just a nice idea, a prerequisite’
Richard Black, Head of Policy and Strategy at Ember, a London-based think tank, said that phasing out coal is not only a good idea, but a prerequisite for decelerating climate change: “Not all countries can move at the same pace, but for a growing number of countries, coal is a resource that their energy systems no longer need. The day is not far off when prosperous countries like the US can also start phasing out the gas, opening the door to a truly clean energy future.”
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