More than 40 countries to make pledge to end coal generation, but not Australia

A group of more than 40 countries and more than 100 organisations will pledge to phase out coal fired generation in a UK-led effort to transition the global energy system away from the fossil fuel responsible for much of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The commitment will be made during the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, as the focus shifts from incentivising new investment flows into climate-friendly infrastructure to tackling the transition of the global energy system.

The Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement has been signed by 190 countries and organisations, including sub-national governments, financial institutions and utilities, that have committed to phase out coal power and end support for new coal power plants.

Signatories include a number of major international banks, which have committed to end investments in coal projects, with NatWest, Lloyds Banking, HSBC joining the statement for the first time.

The statement, which will be officially launched on Thursday (Glasgow time) will also commit national signatories to end new investment in coal power generation domestically and internationally, as well as scaling up investment in clean energy sources.

Major developed economies will commit to phasing out coal generation in the 2030s while developing and emerging economies will end coal fired generation in the 2040s.

While the complete list of signatories has not yet been released, it will include around 20 countries making the pledge to phase out coal fired power stations for the first time.

This includes Poland, Vietnam, Morocco and Chile, which will join countries that include the UK, Canada, Germany, Italy and Spain that have previously made the pledge to phase out coal fired power stations. It is understood that both Indonesia and South Africa are also considering joining the statement.

Poland joining the statement represents a significant commitment for a country that has been heavily reliant on coal.

Neither Australia, the United States, nor India is expected to be signing up to the commitment, representing three of the world’s largest producers and users of coal.

Member of the Climate Council, professor Will Steffen, said the statement represented the beginning of the end for coal power as a global energy source.

“Whether Australia likes it or not, the world is moving toward net zero and that has serious ramifications for our country, particularly for communities and sectors that have traditionally relied on fossil fuels,” Steffen said.

“This is coal’s curtain call. It is a major global commitment and the world’s second largest exporter of thermal coal, Australia, is nowhere in sight.”

“First, we refused to join more than 100 other countries in the global methane pledge, and now this. Australia is so out of step and out of touch with the rest of the world, and that’s going to harm our economy, climate and future prosperity.”

While it is understood that China, Japan and Korea have also not joined the statement, all three countries have committed to ending overseas investment in new coal generators by the end of 2021.

British energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said that the commitment was a “milestone moment” for global efforts to transition away from fossil fuels and clean energy technologies.

“Today marks a milestone moment in our global efforts to tackle climate change as nations from all corners of the world unite in Glasgow to declare that coal has no part to play in our future power generation,” Kwarteng said.

“Spearheaded by the UK’s COP26 Presidency, today’s ambitious commitments made by our international partners demonstrate that the end of coal is in sight. The world is moving in the right direction, standing ready to seal coal’s fate and embrace the environmental and economic benefits of building a future that is powered by clean energy.”

The International Energy Agency has said that global coal use would need to be cut by more than half by 2030, and unabated coal use phased out altogether by 2050, for the world to stand any chance of limiting global warming to just 1.5 degrees.