physics

Powering Past Coal Alliance

Powering Past Coal Alliance is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Powering Past Coal Alliance rather than just read about it. In short: The Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) is a group of 188 countries, cities, regions and organisations aiming to accelerate the coal phase-out of coal-fired power stations, except the very few which have carbon capture and storage. It has been described as a "non-proliferation treaty" for fossil fuels.

Key takeaways

Powering Past Coal Alliance belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Powering Past Coal Alliance to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Powering Past Coal Alliance from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) is a group of 188 countries, cities, regions and organisations aiming to accelerate the coal phase-out of coal-fired power stations, except the very few which have carbon capture and storage. It has been described as a "non-proliferation treaty" for fossil fuels. The project was undertaken with financial support from the Government of Canada, through their environmental department known as Environment and Climate Change Canada.

History

The Alliance was launched by Canada and the UK at the COP23 climate summit in November 2017. Announcing the launch, Climate Action Network-Canada Executive Director Catherine Abreu said: "Canada and the UK are right to kick-start the Alliance, as science tells us that OECD countries need to phase out coal by 2030 at the latest". By the end of the summit, membership had grown to include over 20 countries, regions and organizations. Within a month membership had grown to over 50. Its purpose is to establish a new international norm, or "standard of appropriate behaviour", that coal should not be burned for power. In April 2018 a research partnership was announced with Bloomberg Philanthropies. In October 2018 the South Korean province of South Chungcheong became the first jurisdiction in Asia and the largest user of coal power to join the Alliance. In December 2018 Sydney, Melbourne, Scotland, Scottish Power, Senegal and Israel also joined and in September 2019 seven new members joined including Germany and Slovakia. In June 2020 6 global finance organisations joined including Desjardins Group, the first major North American financial institution to join. During 2021 at least 38 new members joined including Hungary, Uruguay, Chile, Estonia, Singapore, Slovenia and Ukraine. During 2023 at least 15 new members joined including The Czech Republic, Morocco, Colombia and the United States.

Aims

Alliance members agree that:

Governments/states will phase out existing traditional coal power. Governments/states will create a moratorium on any new traditional coal power stations without operational carbon capture and storage. Businesses/organisations will power operations without coal. Members will ensure policies and investments support clean power. Members will restrict financing for traditional coal power without carbon capture and storage.

Reaction Reacting to the launch, Tracy Carty of Oxfam said the Alliance "represents real and tangible progress in the fight against climate change." Business change organisation The B Team welcomed the Alliance, and argued that exiting coal must happen as a just transition that protects vulnerable workers and communities such as coal mining communities.

Progress As of 2025, the US has closed, or planned closure of, 65% of coal plants, Europe has planned the retirement of 50% of its coal fleet, and Canada has reduced its coal capacity by 83%. Several countries have closed all of their coal plants including:

Belgium closed its last coal plant in 2016. Austria closed its last coal plant in 2020. Sweden closed its last coal plant in 2020. The UAE converted its only coal plant to natural gas in 2022. Norway closed its last coal plant in 2023. United Kingdom closed its last coal plant in 2024. Ireland closed its last coal plant in 2025. Ethiopia had planned what would have been its only coal plant in 2011, but it is not being built.

Members Members of the Powering Past Coal Alliance as of November 2025 were:

Nations

Sub-national entities

Businesses and other organisations

See also Peak coal Beyond Coal Under2 Coalition C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative

References

External links Official website

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Powering Past Coal Alliance

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Powering Past Coal Alliance claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Powering Past Coal Alliance before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Powering Past Coal Alliance ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Powering Past Coal Alliance

In research: Powering Past Coal Alliance appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Powering Past Coal Alliance in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Powering Past Coal Alliance is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Coal phase-out, Emissions reduction, Energy policy, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Powering Past Coal Alliance outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Powering Past Coal Alliance in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Powering Past Coal Alliance means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Powering Past Coal Alliance out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Powering Past Coal Alliance in simple terms?

Why does Powering Past Coal Alliance matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Powering Past Coal Alliance?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Powering Past Coal Alliance.