Coal is the world’s oldest industrial source of energy. It is still a dominant source of energy across the world today – particularly for the production of electricity.
But coal is the world’s dirtiest fuel – it not only emits the most carbon dioxide emissions per unit of energy, it has severe impacts on health through air pollution.
Many countries are therefore committing to phasing coal power out of their electricity mix. These pledges are not legally-binding; they are public statements of commitment. But they nonetheless give the public – and other countries – clear targets that they can hold governments accountable to.
This map shows which countries made zero-coal pledges, and the year by which they aim to achieve this. Some countries are already coal-free. Some have set to phase it out by 2030; 2040 or later. Some have not yet committed to eliminating it.1
