New unabated coal not compatible with keeping global warming below 2°C

I have recently been a part of an initiative to counter claims from the coal industry that more efficient coal plants are a climate solution. This has resulted in a factual statement of leading energy and climate scientists from across the world.

Read the press release, or click here for the full statement with supporting evidence.

The main points of the statement are:

  1. Unabated coal is not a “low carbon” technology
  2. Avoiding dangerous climate change requires that the majority of fossil fuel reserves need to stay underground
  3. Current trends in coal use are harbouring catastrophic climate change
  4. To keep global warming to less than 2°C above pre-industrial, use of unabated coal has to go down in absolute terms from now on
  5. Alternatives are available and affordable
  6. Public financing institutions and regulatory agencies are reining in unabated coal, but more is needed

Download the PDF statement