52 Nations Sign Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement

A new report by Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac) states that despite countries agreeing to phase down coal at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), thermal coal demand is expected to rise until the mid-2020s.

To Julian Kettle, senior vice president and vice-chair of metals and mining at WoodMac, there is a lack of implementation details in the Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement, which was signed at COP26 by 52 nations, five sub-national and 26 other organizations.

As reported by Mining.com, the Transition Statement saw signatories commit to a rapid scale-up of clean power generation and energy efficiency measures in their economies and support for other countries carrying out the same; a rapid scale-up of technologies and policies to achieve a transition away from unabated coal power generation in the 2030s for major economies and in the 2040s globally; to cease the issuance of new permits for new unabated coal-fired power generation projects, end new construction of unabated coal-fired power generation projects and end new direct government support for unabated international coal-fired power generation; and to strengthen domestic and international efforts to provide a robust framework of financial, technical, and social support to affected workers, sectors and communities to make a just and inclusive transition away from unabated coal power in a way that benefits them and expands access to clean energy for all.

None of the countries with the top three largest coal-fired power fleets – China, India and the U.S. – are signatories.