40 Countries Including Canada and Poland Agree on Phased Coal Power Phase-Out by 2040

Coal Phase-Out by Advanced Countries in 2030s and Developing Countries in 2040s
"Limitations Due to Non-Participation of Major Coal Consumers like US, China, and India"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Forty countries, including major coal-consuming nations such as Canada, Poland, Chile, and Vietnam, have agreed on a mid- to long-term plan to phase out coal power generation.

On the 3rd (local time), at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) ongoing in Glasgow, UK, these countries agreed on a statement containing this content, according to The Guardian.

Among the countries participating in the statement, the UK government explained that 18 countries, including Poland, Vietnam, and Chile, are participating in coal power phase-out policies for the first time.

Coal is known to have the highest carbon emissions among fossil fuels. For this reason, reducing coal consumption is the most important factor in achieving carbon reduction targets.

The countries participating in this statement agreed to immediately stop investing in new coal power plants both domestically and abroad and to accelerate the adoption of clean energy.

In particular, they agreed to gradually reduce the share of coal power generation, with developed countries aiming to completely phase out coal power in the 2030s, and the remaining developing countries by the 2040s.

Earlier, developed countries such as the United States and the UK announced on the 2nd that they would provide $8.5 billion (approximately 10 trillion KRW) to help South Africa reduce coal usage.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and host of COP26, welcomed the agreement, saying, "The end of coal is near," and "The world is moving in the right direction by ending coal's fate and transitioning to clean energy, which benefits both the environment and the economy."

Separately, the international treaty created to reduce coal usage, the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA), announced that 28 countries, including Ukraine, have newly joined. Notably, Ukraine has committed to eliminating coal, which accounts for one-third of its domestic energy sources, by 2035.

However, there are criticisms that this statement has significant limitations. The Guardian and others pointed out that major coal-consuming countries such as Australia, China, India, and the United States largely did not participate.

As of 2019, coal accounted for 37% of the world's energy sources. Ultimately, this means that countries with large coal consumption must actively participate in reduction efforts to achieve "decarbonization."

Some countries, including China, India, and Vietnam, have announced plans to build new coal power plants to increase coal power generation, citing economic growth.

There are also criticisms that the timeline for the phased coal power phase-out is set too late considering the urgency of climate change.

Juan Pablo Osornio, head of the Greenpeace delegation at COP26, criticized, "The content of this statement is greatly insufficient to achieve fossil energy usage reduction targets," and added, "Thanks to this small print (statement), countries have actually secured enormous discretion over when to stop coal power generation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.