BRITAIN received no power from coal for the first time in more than a century yesterday in a major milestone in the global transition away from fossil fuels.

National Grid have confirmed there were no coal stations running between midnight and 4am on Tuesday morning for the first time since the construction of the UK’s first coal-fired power plant in 1882.

This week also marked the first time that solar generated more electricity than coal in the UK over the period of an entire week.

The Climate Council’s Professor Will Steffen said the milestone was another sign that a global transition away from fossil fuels is well underway.

“The UK have pledged to phase out coal by 2025 and this is a landmark milestone in the journey to meeting that goal,” he said.

“We’ve seen similar progress in transitioning energy systems away from fossil fuels in many of Australia’s other major allies and trading partners. The US’s use of coal for electricity dropped to the lowest levels in history last year and China is shutting more than 1000 coalmines this year.

“But in Australia, we have seen none of that commitment to transitioning away from coal, despite our pledges to do our share in the worldwide effort to keeping global temperature rise to well below 2C.

“The green light has been given to the enormous Adani Carmichael mine and the pollution from that mine would cancel out Australia’s pledged annual emissions reduction.

“There is no plan for the orderly closure of Australia’s ageing and polluting coal-fired power stations and our emissions continue to rise.

“In the meantime, the world is seizing the opportunities of the global renewables boom and Australia is being left behind.”

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