Where does heritage steam stand after COP26 condemned coal?
COAL, the lifeblood of the heritage sector, received a sustained battering at November’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, with many demonstrators carrying placards demanding that the fossil fuel be consigned to history.
Although the summit’s resolution was on coal-committed countries to phase out its use rather than to ban it outright, it has become clear that coal is now seen as the villain of the piece as a major barrier to controlling climate change.
What the COP26 resolution does, effectively, is to put coal – vital for heritage steam railways and main line steam charters – on notice that it will be phased out entirely. Coal, quite simply, will not be tolerated in this brave new world, not just by climate activists, but by global governments, too.
