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UK becomes the first major economy to stop burning coal for electricity – What comes next?
Britain, home of the Industrial Revolution, closed its last coal-fired power plant on Monday ending the country’s 142-year reliance on coal-generated electricity.
Of course, many will celebrate this major climate milestone. The country was the first to be powered by coal – the world’s first coal-fired electricity plant, Thomas Edison’s Edison Electric Light Station, opened in London in 1882.
In 1990 coal provided about 80% of Britain’s electricity. By 2012 it had fallen to 39%, and by 2023 it stood at just 1%, according to figures from the National Grid. More than half of Britain’s electricity now comes from renewable sources such as wind and solar power, and the rest from natural gas and nuclear energy.
The shutdown makes Britain the first country from the Group of Seven major economies to phase out coal. Others in the G7 will follow: Italy (2025), Canada (2030) and Germany (2038). Three-quarters of the 38 OECD countries, too, are expected to eliminate coal power by 2030.
We look at what the global media makes of the milestone – and what they believe should come next.
“The coal age is over in the country that sparked the industrial revolution 200 years ago”
