More than 40 countries are committing to shift away from coal, in pledges made at the COP26 climate summit, said the UK government.
Major coal-using countries including Poland, Vietnam and Chile are among those to make the commitment.
But some of the world’s biggest coal-dependent countries, including Australia, India, China and the US, did not sign up to the pledge.
Coal is the single biggest contributor to climate change.
Signatories to the agreement have committed to ending all investment in new coal power generation domestically and internationally.
They have also agreed to phase out coal power in the 2030s for major economies, and the 2040s for poorer nations, said the UK.
Other organisations also signed up to the pledge, with several major banks agreeing to stop financing the coal industry.
“The end of coal is in sight,” said UK business and energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.
“The world is moving in the right direction, standing ready to seal coal’s fate and embrace the environmental and economic benefits of building a future that is powered by clean energy.”
UK shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said there were “glaring gaps” from China and other large emitters, who have not committed to stop increasing coal use domestically. He also noted that there was nothing on the phasing out of oil and gas.
Miliband said the UK government “has let others off the hook”.
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