UK to end coal power by 2024, as government brings forward deadline

From 2024, the UK will no longer use coal to generate electricity, bringing the cut-off date a year earlier than planned.

UK government has announced that it will move to a ‘much larger mix of renewables’, ahead of the COP26 summit when world leaders will gather to address the climate crisis.

The ban on coal use will only apply to the generation of electricity, and not the steel industry. This comes after the controversial plan to open a coal mine for the steel sector in Cumbria approved by the local council.

Coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel, responsible for emissions that exceed the recommended World Health Organisation safe air pollution levels.

‘Coal powered the industrial revolution two hundred years ago, but now is the time for radical action to completely eliminate this dirty fuel from our energy system,’ Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change said.

‘Today we’re sending a clear signal around the world that the UK is leading the way in consigning coal power to the history books and that we’re serious about decarbonising our power system so we can meet our ambitious, world-leading climate targets.

‘The UK’s net-zero future will be powered by renewables, and it is this technology that will drive the green industrial revolution and create new jobs across the country.’