WCA welcomes Anglo American’s continued engagement

(Posted on 08/05/19)

The World Coal Association (WCA) has welcomed Anglo American’s decision to remain engaged with the WCA, following a recent industry association review.

In a statement, the WCA, which is a membership association representing the coal industry at the global level, said:

WCA is the only body working at the international level to secure the long-term sustainability of the coal sector, bringing together stakeholders to help the industry respond to the challenges and opportunities it faces, encouraging innovation, and supporting members to be industry leaders. The WCA recognises the Paris Agreement objective which commits signatories to ‘holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above preindustrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.’

With coal use projected to continue through the Paris Agreement timeframe, a net zero-emission pathway combining energy efficiency, renewables, fossil fuels with CCUS and other low emissions technologies is required if the objectives of the Agreement are to be met.

WCA has long acknowledged the international imperative of action on climate change, particularly the importance of carbon capture, use and storage in meeting our climate objectives. Last November, the WCA published “Driving CCUS deployment: The pathway to zero emissions from coal” – a report that called for a concerted international commitment on advancing CCUS technology, to ensure it is deployed at the scale needed to meet Paris Agreement goals.

We welcome Anglo American’s decision to engage with the WCA and look forward to working with them and our entire membership to embrace the opportunities and respond to the challenges facing our industry.