More than 40 countries at the United Nations’ COP26 climate summit have pledged to phase out the use of power plants fueled by coal, the single biggest contributor to climate change. The countries signing onto the deal included major coal users, including Poland, Vietnam, and Chile. Some of the world’s biggest consumers of coal, including China and the United States, did not join in. “The end of coal is in sight,” said Kwasi Kwarteng, the U.K.’s business and energy secretary. A critic said the coal pledge was “not a game-changer.” The U.S. signed a separate deal backed by 20 countries committing to end public financing of “unabated” fossil-fuel projects, which don’t capture CO2 emissions, abroad by the end of 2022. Several major banks agreed to stop funding new coal plants. [Reuters, The Guardian]

My comment: “Some of the world’s biggest consumers of coal, including China and the United States, did not join in.” Were Epicurus alive today I am sure that, knowing what we all know now (even the climate change deniers), he would be a strong advocate of stopping the emission of foul coal smoke etc into the air we breathe. It‘s a no-brainer.