The world gathers for the UN Climate Summit COP29 in Azerbaijan at a critical juncture. At COP28, countries agreed to contribute to ‘deep, rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in line with 1.5 °C pathways’. At COP29, they must lay out clear plans for achieving this goal.
To get on track for 1.5°C, countries need to use their new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as an opportunity to significantly accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. As the priority first step at this COP, countries need to make commitments to No New Coal that will underpin their new NDCs. The science is clear – there is no room for new coal power plants in a 1.5°C world.
To make ambitious commitments to accelerate the coal-to-clean transition that will underpin their new NDCs, developing countries need confidence that finance will be available to implement their plans. This is why PPCA members have been working, to develop ideas for solutions to unlock new sources of funding.
The PPCA will be hosting a number of events at the COP that will bring together our members and partners in government, business, finance and civil society – to showcase new commitments, share experience and expertise and ensure the finance for a coal to clean transition continues to grow. Events announced so far:
- 14th November, Coal to Clean Energy Transition: Delivered Domestically, Implementing Internationally: Held in the UK pavilion, this event will share key lessons learned from the UK coal phase-out concluded this year and inspiring case studies from PPCA members.
- 15th November, COP29 Solutions Dialogue: Held in the Canadian Pavillion, this event will conclude our Solutions Dialogue series. Spotlighting Latin America and the Asia-Pacific, it will highlight technical and financial support available for emerging economies to phase out coal in line with 1.5°C.
The PPCA is committed to accelerating the transition from coal to clean energy as a way to build stronger, greener economies and more resilient communities. Through our work at COP29, we will champion ambitious actions and foster the international cooperation needed to power the world past coal. Keep an eye on this page for key coal-related announcements at COP29.
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Call to Action on No New Coal
On 12th November (TBC), XX countries announced their intention to put forward national climate plans that reflect no new unabated coal power in domestic energy systems and call on others to do the same, sending a clear signal around the world that new coal needs to end by COP30.
Developed with the support of the PPCA, the Coal to Action includes new, breakthrough commitments to not build any new unabated coal power plants in domestic energy systems from…, which puts pressure on the remaining countries still building new coal power plants.
Read the Call to Action below.
Coal transition finance
On 15th November (TBC), the Coal Transition Commission co-chaired by the governments of France and Indonesia and hosted by the PPCA published a new report setting out in detail how the world can significantly scale up finance to help emerging economies accelerate the transition away from coal to clean energy.
On the same day (TBC), Standard Chartered joined the PPCA, providing further evidence that a growing number of private financial institutions are willing to invest in retiring coal power plants early, to implement their net zero commitments. By joining the PPCA, the bank signed up to its revised Finance Principles, launched in parallel. The revised PPCA Finance Principles build a norm that finance needs to proactively invest in coal transitions and provide a toolkit for how to do it.
Read more below about our finance work below.
New PPCA members and initiatives
At COP29, the PPCA has welcomed X new members including … [more content dependent on who joins]. With over 180 members, including almost one-third of the world’s governments, the PPCA is uniquely placed to convene key stakeholders all over the world to accelerate coal phase-out.
At COP29, the PPCA has launched a Decarbonising Twinning Initiative in Southeast Asia, in partnership with the Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP). With a focus in Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam, this twinning initiative aims to drive decarbonization by transferring relevant knowledge. The first twinning partners are PPCA member, Wielkopolska in Poland and the island of Mindanao in the Philippines.
Read more about the twinning programme below.
