Rich nations stick to coal phase-out as China builds new plants

Rich nations have stuck to pledges to phase out coal power despite the energy crunch in the wake of the Ukraine war but China's expanding coal fleet risks counteracting the climate impact of the closures, a report said on Tuesday, Qazet.az reports.

Countries within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) policy forum and the European Union are on track to close more than 75% of their coal power capacity from 2010 to 2030, the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) said.

Greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal are the single biggest contributor to climate change. Weaning the world off coal is considered vital to achieving global climate targets, but coal is also the single biggest fuel to make electricity.

While some countries such as Britain and Germany have delayed the closure of coal plants this winter due to concerns over Russian energy supplies, overall phase-out dates remained intact, according to the report released to coincide with the COP27 climate summit of world leaders in Egypt.