It appear the UK is break out up with coal for the first metre in its 140 - twelvemonth love affair . The Carry Amelia Moore Nation made its relationship position official earlier this week after produce a record 55 hours of electricity without burning any ember .

Data compiled byBloombergshows the record was set in London between the hours of 10.25pm on Monday and 5.10am on Thursday , beating the premature 40 - minute coal - free phonograph recording set lastOctober .

It ’s part of the government ’s plan to shift off all ember plants by2025(unless they are meet with carbon gaining control technology ) and thin atomic number 6 and nursery natural gas discharge by 80 percent of 1990 tier over the next three decades .

A decade ago , the UK Parliament enacted theClimate Change Actthat committed to reduce the land ’s atomic number 6 footprint . As a resultant , the Committee on Climate Change ( CCC )   was created to ensure targets are “ evidence - based and independently assessed ” . Their efforts seem to have been work out .

In 2017 , nursery accelerator emissions settle by 3 percent as coal usage dropped and renewable investment continued to go up . With more offshore nothingness turbines installed than any other land in Europe and the increase capacity of the field of solar panels to meet more and more of Britain ’s need for power , last monththe two produce more electricity than nuclear for the first meter in UK account .

An analysis byCarbon Briefshows the UK ’s CO2 emanation fell by 5.8 per centum in 2016 following a record 52 percent reduction in coal function . figure from the Department for Business , Energy and Industrial Strategy analyse by theClimate Action Programshow that coal now only accounts for 5.3 percent of primary energy consumption in the UK , down from 22 per centum in 1995 .

While the British government has divested resources from coal endeavors , President Trump has made it a commission toreinvestin the industry . Early last year , herepealedthe Obama - era Stream Protection Rule that limit ember companies from dump waste in streams . It seems like the rest of the world is ready to move on regardless . A coalition of more than two dozen countries   – know jointly asCOP23 – has joined together in a commission to phase out the purpose of coal and instead gift in neat power due to thenegative wellness effectsof air pollution from burning ember ,   like   respiratory diseases and premature death .

[ H / T : Bloomberg ]