United States Makes Major Coal Announcement at COP28

DUBAI —The United States announced that it would be joining the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) at COP28 today, committing to a moratorium on new unabated coal plants and to phasing out existing unabated coal power generation.

In order to meet the Paris climate agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees, countries must commit to stopping construction of new coal-fired power plants without significant controls on greenhouse gas and other emissions and rapidly reduce emissions from existing coal power generation. Coal emissions must be phased out in Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries by 2030 and non-OECD countries by 2040.

Following is a response from Jake Schmidt, senior strategic director of international climate, at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council): 

“The U.S. must get on a clear path to end the harmful emissions from coal-fired power plants that are cooking the planet and damaging the health of our children and the most vulnerable communities. Joining this alliance is a key step. 

“This puts a spotlight on the other major coal users in the world. It is well past time to rapidly shift to clean energy and energy efficiency, and away from dirty fossil fuels.” 

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law, and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health, and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd). Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.