2019 – Year in review

In the year from COP24 in Katowice to COP25 in Madrid, our membership – now 97 countries, sub-nationals and businesses – have been sharing how they are powering past coal and ensuring a just transition. Here we present some of the highlights.

COP24, Katowice, December 2018 

• A Coal Free Day at the UK pavilion discussed the Just Transition away from coal.
• Celebrating one year since our launch, we held a COP24 event outlining the progress and experience of PPCA members and partners. A packed room heard from Ministers on the efforts that members are taking to accelerate their transition away from coal-fired power generation.
• Six new members – Israel, Senegal, City of Sydney, City of Melbourne, the Scottish Government and Scottish Power – announced they were joining the PPCA.
• Bloomberg NEF launched a series of coal Insights on the PPCA website.
• The World Bank, Canada, and the UK partnered to provide financial, technical and advisory support for developing countries that have decided to transition away from coal and accelerate the uptake of cleaner sources of energy.

March 2019

• We premiered a documentary ‘Blueprint to Transition’ looking at the experience of the UK’s shift from coal power to clean energy, reducing CO2 emissions, expanding offshore wind power, and reinvigorating maritime communities.
• Co-chair Canada welcomed the final report from an independent ‘Just Transition Taskforce’, providing advice from Canadian Coal Power Workers and Communities on what Canada could include in a just transition plan.

May 2019

• Co-chairs Canada and the UK hosted a Global Coal Transition Dialogue at the 10th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) in Vancouver, providing a space for key CEM members who are frontrunners in the transition to low-carbon, climate resilient energy systems to share their experience and expertise on innovative approaches to energy transition.

London Climate Action Week, July 2019

• The UK and Canada worked with top financial institutions to translate the PPCA Declaration into meaningful commitments for financial institutions. Our Finance Principles set out commitments across the areas of Financial Services, Investments, and Reporting.
• PPCA, Chatham House and E3G co-hosted an event about the UK’s experience of coal phase out, at London Climate Action Week.
• The UK’s National Grid Electricity System Operator joined the PPCA.

August 2019

• The UK launched a research and engagement project – ‘Accelerating the transition to Cleaner Energy Alternatives’ in Manila, The Philippines.

UN Climate Action Summit, September 2019

• With growing demand for support on the transition from coal to clean energy, the PPCA responded by enabling membership for national governments that are in the process of developing and implementing ambitious actions on coal phase-out.
• PPCA members Denmark, and Ethiopia hosted The Energy Action Forum at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York, convening high-level stakeholders to demonstrate a leap in collective ambition to accelerate action towards sustainable energy systems.
• Seven new members – Germany, Slovakia, the State of New Jersey (USA), the Province of Negros Oriental (Philippines), Puerto Rico, AXA Investment Managers and Schroders – announced they were joining the PPCA during a special Ministerial session of the Energy Action Forum, hosted by PPCA members Denmark and Ethopia. The PPCA also extended its partnership with leading finance sector initiatives.

October 2019

• PPCA member South Chungcheong province hosted their “2019 International Conference on Coal Phase-out and Climate Action”, bringing together international partners to discuss how Asian countries and sub-national governments can respond to the coal challenge. 

COP25, Madrid, December 2019

At COP25, our new Secretariat team was on the ground, enabling national and sub-national, business and organisation members to share the policies helping them go Powering Past Coal. Members of our Just Transition Taskforce shared best practices and we announced six new members of the Alliance, bring our membership to 97 and driving momentum into 2020. Our events during COP25 included:

• Sub-national member representatives provided fascinating insight into the policies and programs that sub-national governments in Canada, Spain, and the USA are deploying to achieve emissions reductions, while empowering a just transition.
• A high level event saw members talk about how they are increasing their ambitious targets to phase out coal.
• Danish, UK and Canadian representatives talked about the economic benefits of investing in renewables, particularly in South East Asia, in light of UN Secretary General Guterres’ calls for no new coal by 2020 and curtailing current coal capacity.
• High-level government representatives explored the tactics of executing coal-to-clean transition strategies, from initial stages of research to later commitments and dates. They shared best practice, lessons learned from behind-the-scenes processes and policy decisions, and flagged future challenges.
• We joined with the European Commission Coal Regions in Transition Initiative and the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy to discuss how multi-level governance can work in practice and how different actors are leading the way in ensuring Just Transition.