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China, India, the US and Australia were accused last night of weakening a pledge to phase out coal power.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng had said the Cop26 pledge by 190 world leaders and bodies was a ‘milestone moment’.
But three of the world’s coal power giants are not signed up. The US is the world’s third biggest coal producer at 634million tons a year, second to India – 730million – and China – a massive 3.5billion.
Jennifer Morgan, of Greenpeace, said: ‘Without the US, Australia, China and India there’s a very real danger that the end of coal power won’t come soon enough.’
China, India, the US and Australia were accused last night of weakening a pledge to phase out coal power (stock image)
She added: ‘This is one more nail in the coffin of coal, but only one, and the coffin is not yet sealed. Yes, there are some important countries who’ve signed on, like Vietnam and Egypt. This is more proof that coal is dying and the end is in sight… So, if you’re the executive of a coal company today is a bad day. But not as bad as it should have been.’
It also emerged yesterday that richer countries have been offered the chance to extend their deadlines for scrapping coal power by 2030.
The Financial Times highlighted the
