The world says goodbye to coal, oil and gas
Dozens of states commit to phase out coal in Glasgow. But they also want to stop loans for oil and gas production as early as 2023. Switzerland is one of them.
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The end is in sight: smoke is rising from the chimneys of the Turow open-cast lignite mine in Poland.
Photo: Matthias Hiekel (Keystone)
The good news comes in Glasgow not from the negotiation rooms, they come from the printer: Explanations, prepared over months, are now punctually allowing a completely new spirit to waft through the corridors of the conference: The world is saying goodbye to coal, oil and gas.
More than forty states, for example, backed a statement on Thursday saying goodbye to coal. They no longer want to invest in new coal-fired power plants and gradually shut down their old kilns. The signatories include countries that have so far been on your toes with coal: Poland, Ukraine, Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea. The signatories admit that they understand «the imperative of urgently promoting the spread of clean energy». For Great Britain it is another interim success, and it shouldn’t even be the only one on this day. “Coal is no longer king,” said Alok Sharma, President of the Climate Change Conference. “The end is in sight.”
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