wellphoto/Shutterstock Save for later Print Download Share The recent agreement by the G7 group of leading industrial economies on a timetable to phase out coal power plants by 2035 was “a really significant first step,” but work remains to be done, according to Julia Skorupska, head of the secretariat of the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA). “We need everyone [in advanced economies] to be bringing forward their phaseout date to 2030,” in line with guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and International Energy Agency, she told ʶԳ in an interview this week. “Transitioning out of the coal is probably the most important thing we can do to prevent the worst effects of climate change. But it's also a challenge. Coal has been at the center of power systems and economies for a long time.”