Coal wins the fight against climate change

Coal has emerged as the surprise winner of two weeks of international climate talks in Germany, when leaders of the host country and neighboring Poland have joined Donald Trump in support of the dirtiest fossil fuels.

While more than 20 countries, led by Britain and Canada, have pledged to stop burning coal, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended her country's use of fuel and the need to preserve industry jobs. In the meantime, the continued and widespread use of coal in Poland has raised concerns that the next meeting, to be held in the country's mountain center Katowice, could impede progress.

Merkel herself has led the world on installing renewables in recent years, but pressure to form a new government has shown she is hesitant. Her tone change in the Bonn talks, which had already been clouded by Trump's pledge to pull the US out of the landmark Paris Agreement, raised concerns about the future.

Poland has stated that coal will be a key element of its energy security for decades. This worries those pushing for tighter pollution restrictions, who say the country's stance - along with Trump's pledge - could undermine efforts agreed in Paris two years ago to keep global warming from pre-industrial times to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius. ...

“If we cannot convince Poland to make the transition, then we will not succeed in the Parisian goals,” said Bob Ward, director of policy and communications at the Grantham Climate Change and Environment Research Institute at the London School of Economics.