End of coal? COP26 summit deal takes aim at dirtiest fossil fuel

End of coal? COP26 summit deal takes aim at dirtiest fossil fuel

UN conference host Britain said 77 countries had pledged to phase out coal, dirtiest of the fossil fuels that drive global warming, as a study showed the carbon dioxide they release into the atmosphere had already rebounded to near pre-pandemic levels. Indonesia, Poland, Vietnam and other nations on Thursday pledged to phase out their use of coal-fired power and stop building plants, a deal the COP26 climate summit host Britain described as putting the end of the fuel "in sight". Underpinned by commitments from 20 governments to stop public financing for fossil fuel projects abroad by the end of next year, Britain hopes to deliver one of its main aims for the United Nations summit of "consigning coal power to history". But the deal to end domestic use of the most polluting fossil fuel leaves out some of the world's biggest coal-dependent nations, such as Australia, China and India. Alok Sharma, British president of the two-week COP26 conference in Glasgow said on Thursday 77 countries had signed a pledge to phase out coal-fueled power generation — which accounts for more than 35 percent of world’s power — and stop building new plants. “Today I think we can say that the