Commenting on a joint pledge by the leaders of the UK's three main parties, brokered by the Green Alliance, to fight for a robust global climate deal and to take unabated coal out of the UK's energy mix, Greenpeace UK Executive Director John Sauven said:
"This pledge marks a turning point in the collective effort to take Britain's energy system out of the Victorian age and into the 21st century. For the first time all of the UK's main political parties have committed to ending carbon pollution from coal plants, giving this country a better chance of tackling climate change.
"Burning coal is harmful to human health, catastrophic for the climate, and, with Russia our biggest supplier, a risk to energy security too. To put an end to all this, party leaders now need to set a clear expiry date on coal pollution, stop subsidies to coal plants, and start investing in the clean energy infrastructure this country really needs."
ENDS
Key facts about UK coal
- Air pollution from the UK's coal plants causes an estimated 1,600 early deaths per year and costs the taxpayer between £1bn and £3.1bn per year in health impacts [1]
- Last year, 44% of the UK coal imports came from Russia [2]
- The Committee on Climate Change – the government's own climate advisers - has said that if the UK is to decarbonise at least cost "there can be no role for conventional coal generation in the UK beyond the early 2020s" [3]
- A recent report by the Global Commission on the Economy and the Climate, jointly initiated by the UK government, called on affluent countries to "accelerate early retirement of existing unabated capacity" [4]
Notes
1. http://www.env-health.org/IMG/pdf/heal_briefing_what_does_coal_cost_health_in_the_uk_29112013final1_1.pdf
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/386812/ET_Dec_14.pdf
3. http://www.theccc.org.uk/news-stories/no-role-for-conventional-coal-beyond-2020s-23-april-2009/
4. http://static.newclimateeconomy.report/TheNewClimateEconomyReport.pdf
Contacts:
For Greenpeace UK: Stefano Gelmini, m 07506 512442
For the Green Alliance: Alastair Harper, t 020 7630 4527, AHarper@green-alliance.org.uk
