The United States also joined the ‘Coal Phase-out Alliance’… Climate groups from Korea, Japan, and Australia ask, “What about us?”

On the 2nd (local time), seven countries, including the United States, declared membership in the ‘Coal Phase-out Alliance’ (PPCA). As the United States, which has the third largest coal facility capacity in the world, joined the coal phase-out alliance, climate and environmental groups from Korea, Japan, and Australia (Australia) held the ’28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’ (COP28) on this day. He urged his country, “We must also join the Coal Phase-out Alliance.” The Coal Phase-out Alliance issued a press release that day, saying, “The United States, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, the Dominican Republic, Kosovo, Iceland, and Norway have joined the Coal Phase-out Alliance.” The Coal Phase-out Alliance was formed in 2017 led by the UK and Canada to quickly phase out coal-fired power plants, which are considered the main culprit of carbon emissions. The goal is to ‘stop using coal for member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Union (EU) by 2030, and for the remaining countries by 2050.’ John Kerry, U.S. Presidential Special Envoy for Climate, said on this day, “To achieve the goal of 100% carbon-free power by 2035, we must gradually reduce the use of coal,” adding, “We will accelerate the global decoalization together with the Coal Abolition Alliance.” He said. On this day, seven new countries, including the United States, joined, bringing the total number of member countries to the coal phase-out alliance to 57. This includes 35 OECD and European Union member countries (43 overlapping countries). Among OECD member countries, only four countries – Korea, Japan, Australia, and Turkey – have not joined the coal phase-out alliance. As the United States, which has the third largest coal facility capacity, joined the Coal Phase-out Alliance on this day, pressure is growing on these countries to join the Coal Phase-out Alliance.

Activists from climate and environment groups, including Korea’s Climate Solution, Japan, and Australia, joined their country’s ‘Coal Phase-out Alliance’ in front of the media center of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on the 2nd (local time). We are holding a brief press conference calling for . Dubai/Reporter Ki Min-do key@hani.co.kr

Climate and environmental group activists from Korea, Japan, and Australia held a brief press conference in front of the Dubai Media Center in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the Conference of the Parties is being held, 30 minutes after the announcement of the United States’ joining the coal phase-out alliance, to discuss their country’s phase-out. He called for joining the Coal Alliance. Seonwoo Lee, head of the international climate team at Climate Solutions, said, “This announcement (of the U.S. joining the coal phase-out alliance) clearly shows that the global economy is moving away from fossil fuels, and that economies dependent on coal will be left behind,” adding, “Korea is no exception.” He said. He said, “(Nevertheless), Korea is expected to have the third largest coal power generation capacity among OECD countries by 2030,” and added, “We need to move forward from the current 2050 coal phase-out goal.” Bill Hare, CEO of Global Climate Analytics Australia, said, “Australia is still a very coal-intensive country, with coal accounting for nearly 50% of our energy generation mix. We need to reduce emissions, but now, a year later, they are down to 1% again. “It has increased by about a point,” he said. “There are more than 170 coal-fired power plants in Japan, but there is no schedule, plan or roadmap to phase them out,” said Ivan Gak, program coordinator at Japan’s ‘KIKO Network’. “Instead, the Japanese government is using a mixture of coal and ammonia as a decarbonization solution.” “Combustion is being promoted on a large scale, which only results in extending the lifespan of coal power plants much longer,” he pointed out. Dubai/Reporter Ki Min-do key@hani.co.kr