30.09.2024

Britain becomes the first G7 country to stop producing power from coal

Britain will become the first G7 country to phase out coal power with the closure of its last plant. It will end more than 140 years of coal-fired power in the UK, reports Reuters.

In 2015, Britain announced plans to close coal-fired power stations over the next decade as part of wider measures to meet climate targets. At the time, more than 30% of the country's electricity came from coal, but that percentage fell to just over 1% last year.

"The UK has proven that it is possible to phase out coal power at an unprecedented rate," said Julia Skorupska, head of the secretariat of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, a group of around 60 national governments that want to phase out coal power.

Net zero emissions by 2050 

The decline in coal-fired power generation has helped reduce Britain's greenhouse gas emissions, which have fallen by more than half since 1990.

Britain, which aims to reach net zero emissions by 2050, also plans to decarbonise the electricity sector by 2030, a move that will require a rapid increase in renewable energy, wind and solar.

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

Energy emissions make up about three-quarters of total greenhouse gas emissions, and scientists say fossil fuel use must be curbed to meet the goals set out in the Paris climate agreement.

The agreement of the G-7 countries

In April, the G7 major industrialized nations agreed to phase out coal power in the first half of the next decade, but also gave some leeway to economies heavily dependent on coal, drawing criticism from green groups.

"There is much work to be done to ensure that the 2035 target is met and moved to 2030, particularly in Japan, the US and Germany," says Christine Shearer, research analyst, Global Energy Monitor.

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