Over 40 countries pledge to reduce coal use

More than 40 countries signed a declaration during the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) to end funding for new coal-fired power plants, as well as the closure of existing plants - in the 2030s in developed countries, and in the 2040s in developing countries, Report informs citing Interfax.

Such large coal consumers as Poland, Vietnam, Indonesia and Chile are among the signatory countries. At the same time, the largest coal consumers - China, the US, India, Australia - are not yet participating in the pact, according to the information on the conference website.

The agreement concerns coal-fired power plants that do not use carbon dioxide capture technologies.

The UK, host of the conference, made the issue of reducing coal use a central one in the preparations for the conference. Burning coal is considered to be the most important source of greenhouse gases in the world.