The UK stops burning coal for energy, setting an example for the rest of the world.

By Jasmine Chen

Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station in Nottinghamshire, England, UK

Coal has been a crucial worldwide energy source since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, and throughout the early 20th century, solid fuel sources like coal produced the majority of the world’s energy. However, during the late 20th century, the scope of energy sources expanded to also include oil, natural gas, and more, prompting a decrease in the necessity of coal within Europe and the Americas.

It is important to note that, despite the reduction of coal burning in recent decades, coal is still the world’s leading source of carbon emissions, as coal burning produces more CO2 emissions than any other fuel source. Burning coal produces sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and carbon dioxide, all of which contribute to poor air quality, smog, and even acid rain. For the sake of Earth’s climate and human respiratory health, some countries have taken crucial steps to try to stop the harmful effects of coal.

Coal Emissions Statistics

In late September of this year, the UK became the first country within the G-7 (a group of the world’s 7 largest economies including France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada) to completely eliminate the practice of coal burning. On September 30th, 2024 it’s last existing coal firing power plant—Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station—closed at midnight, marking an end to the UK’s more than a century long dependence on coal burning. As of now, the UK has successfully shifted more than half of its energy production to renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.

Although the UK is the first out of the G-7 to completely cut out coal from its energy grid, other, smaller European nations like Sweden and Belgium reached that milestone in previous years. Even so, the United Kingdom’s leading efforts toward sustainable energy production shows that even one of the world’s largest economies can deviate from the usage of climate damaging fossil fuels.

The world is continuing to heat up to approach the threshold of +1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than the average worldwide temperature during the 20th century. It is now more important than ever to produce and use our energy wisely. Should the Earth exceed this barrier, extreme and devastating changes in weather, natural disasters, and environmental balance will occur, possibly leaving permanent damage to the world we live in.

Yes. Earth’s climate conditions may seem grim at the moment, but the UK’s elimination of coal is a huge leap in the right direction—the direction towards environmental sustainability and harmony between humans and the planet.

SOURCES

“UK Becomes the First Major Economy to Stop Burning Coal for Electricity, Closing Its Last Power Plant.” 2024. CNN. September 30, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/30/climate/uk-coal-plant-end-fossil-fuels/index.html.
U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2022. “Coal and the Environment.” Eia.gov. U.S. Energy Information Administration. November 16, 2022. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/coal/coal-and-the-environment.php.
Ritchie, Hannah, Max Roser, and Pablo Rosado. 2020. “CO2 Emissions by Fuel.” Our World in Data. June 23, 2020. https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-fuel.
United Nations. 2024. “1.5°C: What It Means and Why It Matters.” United Nations. 2024. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/degrees-matter.