This past Friday, England saw something it hasn’t seen since 1882—a day without coal burning to generate electricity. As in America, coal has been on the decline for some time and renewable energy is on the rise.
“Symbolically, this is a milestone,” said Sean Kemp, a spokesman for National Grid, Britain’s power grid operator. “A kind of end of an era.”
The first public coal-fired generator opened at Holborn Viaduct in London in 1882. Since then, the British economy, one of Europe’s largest, was thought to never have gone without power from coal for a whole working day.
The birthplace of the industrial revolution showing the rest of the world a day without burning coal is a powerful reminder that we are closer to a clean energy world.
Gareth Redmond-King, head of climate and energy at WWF, called the first coal-free working day “a significant milestone in our march towards the green economic revolution”.
“Getting rid of coal from our energy mix is exciting and hugely important. But it’s not enough to achieve our international commitments to tackle climate change – we haven’t made anything like the same progress on decarbonising buildings and transport. Whoever forms the next government after the general election, they must prioritise a plan for reducing emissions from all sectors.” Redmond-King said.
This past summer England moved forward with plans to close nearly all of their nuclear plants in favor of energy generated from wind turbines. But don’t worry, Americans, the Republican Party and their orange leader have a plan for you coal families—they want you to just die. But don’t forget to vote for them first.