Britain took a break from coal power.
Andrew Aitchison
In April of 2017 Britain went its first day without coal since the Industrial Revolution. On Wednesday Britain did one better: The island nation went a full week without using coal power.
The National Grid Electricity System Operator, which runs the electricity grid in England, Scotland and Wales, broke the news via Twitter on Wednesday. “This is the first time since the original coal power station launched back in 1882,” the account said.
The UK government has previously pledged to remove coal power from its grid by 2025. Fintan Style, director National Grid, said in a tweet that coal-free week is proof of renewable energy’s power.
“As more and more renewables come onto our energy system, coal-free runs like this are going to be a regular occurrence,” Style said. “We believe that by 2025 we will be able to fully operate Great Britain’s electricity system with zero carbon.”
It’s a promising sign a week after the UK’s Committee on Climate Change (CCC) recommended Britain achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Though meat production, shipping and aviation are also key elements, coal-fueled electricity is a major cause of carbon emissions.
The CCC’s report stated the target could be hit using current technology, pointing to the increasing reliability and decreasing price of renewable energy. Extinction Rebellion, an activist group which has led protests around Britain, has called for net-zero carbon emissions by 2025.
In 2015, Britain’s carbon dioxide emissions amounted to 389.75 million tonnes, according to World Atlas, placing it as the world’s 15th biggest emitter. No. 1 on the chart is China, at 904 billion tonnes.