Powering Past Coal Alliance


The Powering Past Coal Alliance is a group of 104 countries, cities, regions and organisations aiming to accelerate the fossil-fuel phase out of coal-fired power stations, except the very few which have carbon capture and storage. It has been described as a "non-proliferation treaty" for fossil fuels. The project was undertaken with financial support from the Government of Canada, through their environmental department known as Environment and Climate Change Canada.

History

The Alliance was launched by Canada and the UK at the COP23 climate summit in November 2017. Announcing the launch, Climate Action Network-Canada Executive Director Catherine Abreu said:
By the end of the summit, membership had grown to include over 20 countries, regions and organizations. Within a month membership had grown to over 50. Its purpose is to establish a new international norm, or “standard of appropriate behaviour”, that coal should not be burned for power.
In April 2018 a research partnership was announced with Bloomberg Philanthropies.
In October 2018 the South Korean province of South Chungcheong became the first jurisdiction in Asia and the largest user of coal power to join the Alliance. In December 2018 Sydney, Melbourne, Scotland, Scottish Power, Senegal and Israel also joined and in September 2019 seven new members joined including Germany and Slovakia.

Aims

Alliance members agree that:
Reacting to the launch, Tracy Carty of Oxfam said the Alliance:
Business change organisation The B Team welcomed the Alliance, and argued that exiting coal must happen as a just transition that protects vulnerable workers and communities such as coal mining communities.

Members

Members of the Powering Past Coal Alliance as of June 2020 were:

Nations

  1. Angola
  2. Austria
  3. Belgium
  4. Canada
  5. Costa Rica
  6. Denmark
  7. El Salvador
  8. Ethiopia
  9. Fiji
  10. Finland
  11. France
  12. Germany
  13. Greece
  14. Ireland
  15. Israel
  16. Italy
  17. Latvia
  18. Liechtenstein
  19. Lithuania
  20. Luxembourg
  21. Marshall Islands
  22. Mexico
  23. Netherlands
  24. New Zealand
  25. Niue
  26. Portugal
  27. Senegal
  28. Slovakia
  29. Sweden
  30. Switzerland
  31. Tuvalu
  32. United Kingdom
  33. Vanuatu

    Sub-national entities

  34. Australian Capital Territory, Australia
  35. City of Melbourne, Australia
  36. City of Sydney, Australia
  37. City of Vancouver, Canada
  38. Province of Alberta, Canada
  39. Province of Ontario, Canada
  40. Province of British Columbia, Canada
  41. Province of Quebec, Canada
  42. City of Rotterdam, Netherlands
  43. Province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines
  44. Province of Negros Oriental, Philippines
  45. Government of the Balearic Islands, Spain
  46. South Chungcheong Province, South Korea
  47. New Taipei City, Taiwan
  48. Scotland, UK
  49. Wales, UK
  50. City and County of Honolulu, U.S.
  51. City of Los Angeles, U.S.
  52. City of Philadelphia, U.S.
  53. State of California, U.S.
  54. State of Connecticut, U.S.
  55. State of Hawaii, U.S.
  56. State of Minnesota, U.S.
  57. State of New Jersey, U.S.
  58. State of New York, U.S.
  59. State of Oregon, U.S.
  60. State of Washington, U.S.
  61. Territory of Puerto Rico, U.S.

    Businesses and other organisations

  62. Aberdeen Standard Investments
  63. Alterra Power
  64. ArcTern Ventures
  65. Autodesk
  66. Avant Garde Innovations
  67. Aviva
  68. Axa Investment Managers
  69. BT
  70. Caisse des dépôts et consignations
  71. CCLA Investment Management Limited
  72. Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church and Epworth IM
  73. Church of England Pensions Board
  74. Desjardins Group
  75. Diageo
  76. Drax
  77. DSM
  78. Econet Group
  79. EcoSmart
  80. Electricité de France
  81. Engie
  82. GeoExchange Coalition
  83. GreenScience
  84. Hermes Investment Management
  85. Iberdrola
  86. Kering
  87. Legal & General
  88. Marks and Spencer
  89. National Grid
  90. Natura Cosmetics
  91. Ørsted
  92. Pacific Islands Development Forum
  93. Robeco
  94. Salesforce
  95. Schroders
  96. Scottish Power
  97. SSE
  98. Storebrand
  99. Swiss Re
  100. The Church Commissioners for England
  101. Unilever
  102. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company
  103. Virgin Group
  104. XPND Capital