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Britain Shifts Away From Coal, Will Close Power Stations In 10 Years

A general view shows a residential estate in front of the Ferrybridge C power station, near Knottingley in northern England, on November 10, 2015. The coal fired power station is owned by energy company SSE, and is expected to close by the end of March 2016. (Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images)
A general view shows a residential estate in front of the Ferrybridge C power station, near Knottingley in northern England, on November 10, 2015. The coal fired power station is owned by energy company SSE, and is expected to close by the end of March 2016. (Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images)

As the climate talks continue in Paris, Britain is taking a major step to reduce carbon emissions. U.K. Energy Secretary Amber Rudd says the nation’s last coal-fired power stations will close by the end of 2025.

The U.K. would be the first industrialized nation to eliminate coal-fired power generation and environmentalists say this sends a major signal to the rest of the world.

BBC’s industry and employment correspondent John Moylan is covering the story, and joins Here & Now‘s Indira Lakshmanan in the first of a two-part series on coal. Tomorrow we will look at coal in the U.S.

Note: This BBC interview can be heard in the Here & Now podcast or with the WBUR app.

Reporter

  • John Moylan, industry and employment correspondent at BBC. He tweets @johnmoylanbbc.

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