Notably Absent At UN Today; US, Japan, Australia; But Parade Of Coal Will Proceed
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Among the first countries to appear at the summit meeting on Monday will be India. The vast majority of its electricity comes from burning coal, and it continues to develop new coal mines and new coal-fired power plants, often with state subsidies, even as it ramps up renewable energy.
Later in the morning comes Indonesia, the world’s biggest exporter of thermal coal. China, the world’s coal juggernaut, will follow later in the day. So, too, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Kenya — three countries where Chinese state-owned companies are building, or want to build, coal-fired power plants.
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Notably absent from the Monday summit will be other champions of coal: Australia, which recently authorized the opening of a vast new coal basin, and Japan, which continues to fund coal projects around the world. Also absent will be the United States, where President Trump has championed coal but where it is fast diminishing as a source of energy because of the boom in natural gas.
Still, offering the podium to many of these champions of coal directly contradicts one of the summit’s stated themes, presented in the draft agenda under the title “Powering the Future From Coal to Clean.” The presidents of Slovakia and Korea are scheduled to speak at that session.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/22/climate/un-climate-summit-coal.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate