United Kingdom becomes 1st G7 country to give up coal – 09/30/2024 – Environment

With the closure of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant this Monday (30), the United Kingdom will become the first G7 country to give up coal power production.

The moment ends more than 140 years of the most polluting fossil fuels used to supply electricity in the country, which was the cradle of the Industrial Revolution — considered a milestone in the increase in greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.

In 2015, the UK announced plans to close coal-fired power plants within the next decade as part of wider measures to meet its climate targets. At that time, almost 30% of the country’s electricity came from coal, but that fell to just over 1% last year.

“The UK has proven that it is possible to phase out coal power at unprecedented speed,” said Julia Skorupska, head of the secretariat of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, a group of around 60 national governments seeking to phase out this energy source.

Coal cuts have helped reduce the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, which have more than halved since 1990.

The UK, which has a target of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, also plans to decarbonise the rest of the electricity sector by 2030, which will require a rapid increase in renewable energy such as wind and solar.

“The era of coal may be ending, but a new era of good energy jobs for our country is just beginning,” Energy Minister Michael Shanks said in a statement.

Emissions from energy represent around 75% of total greenhouse gas emissions and scientists say that the use of fossil fuels must be reduced to reach the goals set in the Paris Agreement.

In April, the G7’s major industrialized countries agreed to phase out coal power in the first half of the next decade, but also gave some flexibility to economies heavily reliant on coal, drawing criticism from environmental groups.

“There is still a lot of work to be done to ensure the 2035 target is met and brought forward to 2030, especially in Japan, the US and Germany,” said Christine Shearer, research analyst at Global Energy Monitor.

Coal power still accounts for more than 25% of electricity in Germany and more than 30% of power in Japan.

Last year, coal consumption in the world reached a record, with 8.53 billion tons burned, according to the International Energy Agency.

The entity highlighted that in 2023 there was growth in consumption in China, with an increase of 220 million tons (4.9%) compared to 2022, and in India, with an increase of 98 million tons (8%). An additional 23 million tons were also burned in Indonesia, which represented an increase of 11%, according to the agency.