Due to the Pandemic, Europe, India, China, and parts of the U.S. Are Less Reliant on Coal

There may be a small twinge of good news that has come out of this devastating coronavirus pandemic, and that is that large parts of the world are becoming less reliant on coal, according to Bloomberg. How? Might you ask?

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Well, in certain parts of the world, coal has become more expensive than gas and renewables. As such, countries in Europe, as well as India, China, and parts of the United States, are making the switch to alternative energy sources.

This must be good news to the ears of activists who have been trying to prove the devastating environmental cost of coal for a long time. Europe is proving to be a key example in switching from coal to other energy sources, according to Bloomberg.

The Union saw two more of its countries, Austria and Sweden, shut down their last coal-fired power plants in the last two weeks. Bloomberg reports that, according to Kathrin Gutmann, campaign director for Europe Beyond Coal, Europe followed three rules to make this transition a smooth one.

The Union implemented the right policies on a federal level, provided solutions for renewables' intermittency issues on the local level, and also offered options for the coal-related livelihoods that would be lost. Next, it needs to implement deadlines to phase out coal that are based on climate science and stick to them.

If that is not done, warns Gutmann, the country could get sued. It's hard to tell if all nations will be switching from coal to other more eco-friendly alternatives sooner rather than later. One thing is for sure, though, is that one day they will all need to make the transition happen. Until that day comes, we'll be holding our breaths.