Reading the headlines, it would be easy to conclude that coal is dead. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates the most polluting fossil fuel to be responsible for nearly one-third of global warming, and it is now struggling to attract financing and compete with cheaper alternatives. This month, the world’s biggest mining group, BHP, announced plans to phase out mining coal for electricity generation. COVID-19 has added to coal’s woes. Yet hundreds of new coal power plants are still being built, leading U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres last month to urge nations to stop coal financing. Many have pledged to do so, as have a growing number of financial institutions.
But the problem is that even if nations heed Guterres’s call—itself a steep hill to climb—far too little attention is being paid by governments and environmentalists to the coal plants that already exist. Even if not a single additional coal plant is built, the world will fall short of its climate goals if existing coal plants run to the end of their normal life spans without curbs on their emissions. For governments working to combat climate change, developing a feasible and affordable plan to finance a transition of today’s existing fleet of coal power plants must be a more urgent priority.
