Editor’s Note, Dec. 14, 2023: This article was updated to use a new global target after the release of the 2023 State of Climate Action report. The updated data analysis doesn’t change the eight countries that have scaled solar and wind energy the fastest, however, it does show that only three of the eight countries (Uruguay, Denmark

Phasing out coal power is the most important step the world can take to curb climate change. Coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, supplied 36% of electricity generation in 2022. This must drop to 4% by 2030 and then 0% by 2040 if the world is to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) and prevent the most

In 2015 when the Paris Agreement was reached, its new goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) was at risk of being dead on arrival because the world was on the verge of a coal-plant-building boom. In 2015, the world had 1,496 GW of new coal in development — enough to almost double global