Corrects missing word in headline
Major coal producers Australia and Colombia, along with the EU and 23 other countries including the UK, have pledged not to allow any new unabated coal-fired power generation in their energy systems at the UN Cop 29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan.
This comes a day after Colombia, New Zealand and the UK joined a Netherlands-led international coalition focused on phasing out incentives and subsidies for fossil fuels.
Most of the coal pact signatories are members of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, under which some countries have committed to phasing out existing unabated coal power generation. Australia is not listed as a member of the alliance, but the cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra are.
Unsurprisingly, the list of signatories did not include China or India, the two world's largest coal importers. It also does not include the US, although the country is part of the Powering Past Coal Alliance.
"There is no space for new unabated coal in a 1.5°C or even 2°C aligned pathway, yet coal capacity rose by 2pc last year," the pact signatories said today.
The pledge focuses on coal-fired generation and does not mention the phasing out of exports or imports.
Australia, is the world's second-largest seaborne coal exporter. The country is looking to host Cop 31 in 2026 by outbidding Turkey for the spot. But no realistic policy changes in coal exports is expected from Australia, which will have a federal parliamentary election by May 2025 and winning votes from key coal mining regions in New South Wales and Queensland has proven to be crucial in recent elections.
Turkey is on track to overtake Germany as Europe's largest coal-fired generator this year and was not among the signatories of today's coal pledge.
Amid calls for a faster phase-down of unabated coal-fired power generation, global coal trade is set to reach a record high of more than 1.5bn t this year, surpassing last year's 1.38bn t, according to IEA data. Coal consumption will probably remain resilient, supported by higher electricity demand growth in China and India.
China has not set a new climate plan since 2021, but it is expected to ramp up its ambitions in a new plan due by February 2025. India and Indonesia are strongly encouraging higher coal production to ensure energy security.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) in September lowered its forecast for US coal-fired generation in this year but raised its expectation for 2025.
