The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has committed to phasing out traditional coal power by becoming the first Australian government to sign the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA).
The Canadian and the UK governments launched the PPCA at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Bonn, Germany, in November 2017.
Last Thursday (11 October) Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability Shane Rattenbury said that by signing to the Alliance, the ACT continues to drive climate action, delivering on a transition to cleaner, greener energy future.
“It also furthers our goals of achieving 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2020 and zero net emissions by 2045 – two of the most ambitious climate targets in the world,” the Minister said, who also commented that it is staggering that 40 per cent of the world’s electricity is still powered through coal fuel.
“The stance of the current Federal Government is to knowingly turn a blind eye to climate science. That is what makes it so morally reprehensible – they have the information, they just choose to ignore it,” he said, “while the Federal Government refuses to act in humanity’s best interests, the ACT remains a committed partner in the fight against a warming climate.”
In welcoming the commitment of the ACT and other recent joining members, UK Special Representative for Climate Change Nick Bridge said that the continued growth of the PPCA shows clear support to end unabated coal-fired power generation.
“Reducing global consumption of coal should be a vital and urgent priority for all countries and states. There is proof that we are out of one industrial revolution and into another that focuses on renewables, not coal,” Mr Bridge said.
As of September 2018, the UN’s PPCA has 74 members, including 29 national governments, 17 subnational governments and 28 businesses.
More information on the PPCA can be found here.