Coal Power’s Clout Diminishing

• Sri Lanka, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Montenegro and the UK have joined No New Coal Power Compact
• It would require them to immediately stop permitting new coal power plants and end construction of 'unabated' coal-fired power generation projects by 2021-end
• A living document, the compact is open to other countries to join in as well

Clean energy on their minds, a group of governments have pledged their commitment to no new coal power in their countries under a the No New Coal Power Compact partnership. These nations include Sri Lanka, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Montenegro and the UK.

A voluntary action by the respective countries announced at the United Nations (UN) High Level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE), it means they are required to 'immediately' stop permitting new coal power plants and also end construction of 'unabated' coal-fired power generation projects by the end of 2021.

Ahead of the UN Climate Summit COP26 scheduled to be held from October 31, 2021 to November 12, 2021 in Glasgow, UK, this compact will work as a living document and open to other nations as well. Speaking at the United Nations International Energy Forum, the Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced his nation's decision to enter the No New Coal Compact, as it aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Asian country wants to have 70% of all its electricity requirements being fulfilled by renewables by 2030, which would be up from 35% share now.

Creation of this compact follows the no-new-coal beyond its boundaries announcement by the world's biggest carbon emitter China at the same forum a few days back. Most analysts see China's decision as having sounded a death-knell for coal-fired power generation, across the world (see China Won't Build New Coal Projects Abroad).

International organization Sustainable Energy For All (SEFA) quoted Danish Minister of Climate, Energy and Utilities Dan Jørgensen as saying, "Development of new coal-fired power plants must stop this year (2021) to achieve net zero emissions by 2050." He added, "This energy compact is an important step on the way for a complete phase-out of coal power and consigning coal power to history at COP26."

In his opening remarks to the HLDE, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called out to OECD nations to commit to phasing out coal capacity by 2030, and all other nations following suit by 2040.

In a July 2021 report, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) calculated up to $173 trillion investment required for energy transition by 2050 and 455 GW of solar PV capacity annually till 2030 for the world to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 (see 455 GW PV/Year Till 2030 For Net-Zero Ambition).