Draft deal at UN climate talks calls for end to coal use

By SETH BORENSTEIN, ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL and FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Governments are considering calling for pulling the plug on coal power — the single biggest source of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. That’s according to a draft deal under negotiation in U.N. climate talks that was released Wednesday. The draft calls for accelerating “the phasing out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuels,” though it sets no timeline. The early version of the final document also expresses “alarm and concern” about how much Earth has already warmed and urges countries to cut carbon dioxide emissions by about half by 2030. Pledges so far from governments don’t add up to that frequently stated goal. Some nations warned that the draft didn’t go far enough in requiring action to limit increases in global temperatures.