Twenty-five countries, mostly rich, committed this Wednesday at COP29 to not inaugurate more coal plants without CO2 capture systems, in the hope of prompting other nations to abandon that energy source.
The United Kingdom, which has just closed its last coal plant, Canada, France, Germany and Australia, a large coal producer, signed that voluntary call during the UN climate conference in Baku. China, India and the United States did not support the initiative.
The signatories commit that their next climate plans will not include any coal plants that do not have CO2 capture mechanisms.
The commitment, however, does not force them to give up the extraction or export of coal, the burning of which generates more CO2 than oil and gas. Its use continues to increase worldwide.
“The commitment to begin the transition away from fossil fuels must be materialized with real actions on the ground,” he declared. Wopke Hoekstra, head of the European Commission for climate, who signed the call.
New coal projects “must cease”, declared the British Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, also present in Baku.
The fact that Australia, whose Labor government has ambitious plans on climate issues, has signed was applauded by NGOs. “The coal door has been closed. Now, we have to lock it,” Erin Ryan, from the Australian branch of the Climate Action Network, told AFP.
Angola, Uganda and Ethiopia are among the other signatories of this commitment, developed with the “Powering Past Coal” alliance.
Source: Ambito
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