Plans for new mines and power plants are being ditched across Europe and the US, but coal isn’t going away anytime soon
Humanity needs to ditch coal to save itself. It also needs to keep the lights on.By Angela Dewan, Angus Watson, Lauren Kent and Phil Black, CNNUpdated 0804 GMT November 4, 2021
On a quiet Sunday morning, an ear-splitting roar reverberated across the English village of Eggborough as four giant concrete cooling towers imploded and crashed to the ground, transformed to clouds of debris in a matter of seconds. Just moments after their demolition, it became hard to imagine the structures were ever there, so out of place they were, jutting 90 meters into the sky among the green fields surrounding the River Aire. The Eggborough power station is just one of 14 coal plants the United Kingdom has laid to rest over the past decade. In 2012, 40% of the UK's power came from coal. By 2020, it was below 2%. Last year, the country went for 67 days without using any coal for power at all.
Scientists say the world needs to halve greenhouse gas emissions this decade and reach net zero by mid-century to have any chance of containing global warming to a level that will avert catastrophe. "To reach net-zero by 2050, you really need a zero-carbon power sector a decade earlier," Shearer said."So the world shouldn't be using coal at all past 2040.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
COP26 coal deals take aim at dirtiest fossil fuelPoland, Vietnam, Chile and other countries will pledge on Thursday to phase out coal-fuelled power generation and stop building new plants, in a deal the COP26 summit's British hosts said would commit 190 nations and organisations to quit the fuel.
Read more »
The effort to phase out fossil fuels gains momentum at COP26The push to phase out fossil fuels is gaining momentum at the COP26 climate summit.
Read more »
China envoy defends emissions, criticizes US under TrumpChina is at a “special development stage” that warrants its current status as the world's biggest emitter of climate-damaging fossil fuel pollution, the nation's senior climate negotiator said Tuesday. Xie Zhenhua, a special climate envoy for China, spoke to reporters at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. As a major climate polluter and as the world's second-biggest economy, China has been much talked about, but little seen, at the summit.
Read more »
19 countries plan COP26 deal to end financing of fossil fuels abroad - sourcesAt least 19 countries plan to commit at the COP26 climate summit on Thursday to stop public financing for fossil fuel projects abroad by the end of next year, according to two people familiar with the talks.
Read more »
COP26 climate summit continues after landmark deal to ditch coalFollow CNBC's live updates from the COP26 summit, where world leaders are working to accelerate action on climate change.
Read more »
Flagship finance pledges at COP26 criticized for 'missing the point' on fossil fuelsA host of finance announcements are expected at U.N.-brokered climate talks on Wednesday, billed as 'Finance Day.'
Read more »