Pulling the plug on fossils in power
Climate Action Tracker - September 2023
Why do we need to pull the plug?
Decarbonising the power sector is a key step on the road to net zero as it will cut both power sector emissions and help push fossil fuels out of the buildings, transport and industrial sectors as these sectors electrify.
To help track global and country level progress, the Climate Action Tracker has established benchmarks for the shares of fossil gas, coal and renewable energy in the power sector that are compatible with limiting warming to 1.5°C. We have set out these benchmarks in a separate report, Clean electricity within a generation, and in this briefing we use them to look at how close countries are to achieving them.
The Goal
Decarbonise the power sector by 2040 – within a generation.
Developed countries need to phase out coal by 2030, and unabated gas by 2035. The developing country power sector transition is not far behind, phasing out both coal and fossil gas by 2040, many with financial support. This represents a transition to global clean power within a generation.
Key to achieving clean power is the acceleration of renewables deployment. All countries achieve above 80% of electricity from renewables by 2035 in these 1.5°C aligned benchmarks, and 90-100% renewable electricity supply by 2050.
There is no role for carbon capture and storage (CCS) in coal generation, and a marginal role for fossil gas equipped with CCS, at best. The future of fossil fuels in a 1.5 ̊C compatible power sector transition, whether abated or unabated, is the same – one of swift decline.
Country status overview
In this briefing, we present 1.5°C benchmarks for 16 countries - Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, EU27, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Türkiye, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, the UK, and the US – and assess whether they are on track to meet them.