COP28: US, Czech Republic among nations committing to phase out coal power

Seven countries including the US and the Czech Republic have joined a coalition calling for the phase out of unabated coal-fired power generation by 2030 during the UN Climate Change conference Dec. 2.

The group, including Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Iceland, Kosovo and Norway, joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) at COP28, committing not to develop new unabated coal as well as phase out existing unabated coal plants.

The PPCA called on international action on coal phase outs as part of the Global Stocktake, which is to be finalized during COP28. The PPCA is a global coalition of governments and local actors that calls on all its members to commit to the phase out of coal by 2030.

The coalition does not include China or India, the world's biggest consumers of coal. The US joining the alliance, as the world's third largest consumer of coal, is a major win for the PPCA.

Coal power is the single biggest contributor to climate change, major economies emitting 7.8 billion mtCO2e in 2020 from this single source.

"To meet our goal of 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035, we need to phase out unabated coal, and we urge the world to join us in doing so, while working to grow good-paying clean energy jobs," said US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.

"Together with the Powering Past Coal Alliance, we will be working to accelerate unabated coal phase-out across the world, building stronger economies and more resilient communities. The first step is to stop making the problem worse: stop building new unabated coal power plants," Kerry said.

Prior to the announcement, the PPCA's membership included 167 national and sub-national governments, businesses and organizations.

Coal power use

In 2022 coal-fired plants generated 36% of global electricity, outstripping all other sources. Over half of this output was in China, with the next three largest contributors – India, the US and Japan, accounting for around 25% of the total.

Of the 8 billion mt of coal produced globally in 2022, China consumed 4.5 billion mt, while India's consumption rose to nearly 900 million mt.

In terms of domestic share of generation, South Africa is most reliant on coal power (85%), followed by India (74%), Poland (70%), Indonesia (62%) and China (61%).

The IEA’s Net Zero Roadmap shows coal power must end in advanced economies by 2030 and worldwide by 2040. Yet even in Europe, where coal phase outs are taking place in several countries, Germany and Poland are failing to align with these goals, while India and China continue to build new coal stations.