Coal and Climate Change: Electrifying Issue

In April, British Energy Secretary Ed Miliband announced that new coal-fired power plants would be required to capture and store carbon dioxide. The speech was more nuanced than that, of course, and important details are yet to be worked out. But that is the practical consequence. It was an extraordinary announcement – the first industrialised country to make such a commitment. Why now? And what are the implications for the future of coal and the future of renewable electricity, in Britain and across Europe?