Britain, Denmark Seen as World Leaders in Climate Change Fight

(Bloomberg) -- Britain's phase out of coal-fired power is helping make it one of the world's leaders in taking steps to reduce climate change, according to a report published Wednesday.

The U.K., the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, ranks second in mitigating climate change behind Denmark among 25 countries analyzed in a report commissioned by utility Drax Group Plc and compiled by academics at Imperial College London. Britain's uptake of electric vehicles is among the highest of the nations in the study.

The report is being launched at the United Nations climate conference in Poland where more than 22,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries will seek to transform pledges made in Paris three years ago into an international rulebook aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

Progress “is very mixed,” said Iain Staffell, lecturer in Sustainable Energy Systems at Imperial. “Great strides are being made in cleaning up global electricity generation, and renewable capacity is increasing rapidly all around the world.”

Two-fifths of the world's electricity still comes from coal. Asian countries including Indonesia, India and Japan are increasing their reliance on fossil fuels.

By contrast, the U.K.'s phase out of coal-fired generation has been faster than any other country in the world. It has reduced carbon emissions from its power system by more than twice as much as some other countries, according to the report.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rachel Morison in London at rmorison@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net, Andrew Reierson, Nicholas Larkin

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