The UK, Germany, Italy, South Korea, and Indonesia are among the 40 countries that signed a pledge to phase out coal. That seems a positive development for the climate. But on closer inspection, it appears that the global ‘coal to clean power transition’ commitment failed to rally the support of several of the world’s biggest coal consumers, including China, India, the United States, and Australia—rendering the agreement fairly impotent. In fact, most countries that did sign the pledge at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow have either already pledged to phase out coal, or use little of it themselves, especially when compared to the top coal-consuming nations. In June, the UK had already brought forward its target to end coal use in electricity generation by one year to October 2024 as part of its aim to lead the world in tackling climate change. Already in 2017, Italy announced its […]