Farewell to Coal
Farewell to Coal

Donald Trump is trying hard to revive a dying coal industry with his rollback of Obama’s Clean Power Plan, but the momentum to dethrone Kind Coal remains powerful. The amount of electricity produced by coal has been falling in recent years (roughly 25 percent in the US since the start of the new millennium), less due to federal regulation than to cheap natural gas and plummeting renewable energy prices. New coal plants, with their relatively high costs and uncertain future, are bad for business. Other countries get this, like the UK and Canada, which both committed to phase coal out of their electricity generation earlier this year—by 2025 and 2030, respectively. The Netherlands recently joined them, pledging to phase out coal by 2030. When the signees of the 2015 Paris Agreement meet in Germany next month to discuss next steps, saying farewell to coal should be high on the agenda.  



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Journey to Earthland

The Great Transition to Planetary Civilization

Cover Image of Paul Raskin's latest book titled Journey to Earthland

GTI Director Paul Raskin charts a path from our dire global moment to a flourishing future.

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