COP26 updates: Countries officially adopt Glasgow Climate Pact

The use of coal as an energy source is quickly coming to an end, according to the United Nations.

At least 23 countries made new commitments Thursday to phase out coal power, including five of the world’s top 20 coal power-using countries, the U.N. announced. 

In addition, major international banks have committed to effectively end all international public financing of new unabated coal power by the end of 2021, and at least 25 countries and public finance institutions have committed to ending international public support for the unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022.

The rapid phaseout of coal has been a recurring theme of COP26, with the breadth of commitments today signaling that the world is moving toward a renewable future, according to the U.N.

At least 23 nations made new commitments to phase out coal power, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Poland, South Korea, Egypt, Spain, Nepal, Singapore, Chile and Ukraine. As part of the "Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement," countries also committed to scaling up clean power and ensuring a just transition away from coal.

Future Earth, Earth League and the World Climate Research Programme released their annual climate report today at COP26 summarizing the latest climate change data and research.

The 10 New Insights in Climate Science 2021 report was launched at a press conference with UNFCC executive secretary Patricia Espinosa and three of the report’s authors.

“We hope that the work presented in this report will drive the deep transformations we desperately need,” said Wendy Broadgate, Future Earth’s Global Hub director.

The goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is only attainable with “immediate and drastic” global climate action, which must be “just,” the report said.

The dangers of megafires and methane and nitrous oxide emissions were among the other key insights from the report.

A first-of-its-kind law will require manufacturers to cover the cost of recycling the packaging they create.

"I like to call it recycling reform," Maine state representative Nicole Grohowski, who sponsored the law, told ABC News in an interview. "It makes the producers of packaging waste responsible for what happens to that waste at the end of its lifespan."

Read more here.

-ABC News’ Devin Dwyer, Sarah Herndon and Bobby Gehlen

The U.S. needs to lead by example in the clean energy transition and leaders should jump at the chance to scale up new technology to stay competitive on the global stage, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told ABC News.

As the "richest country in the world" and one of the biggest polluters, it will be incumbent upon Americans to "do our part," Granholm told ABC News’ Maggie Rulli on Thursday. 

"If you're a businessperson, you want to be able to get in the game," Granholm said. "And in the United States, we don't want our economic competitors getting those jobs, getting those businesses. We want to be able to create it in the United States for our people to work."

Granholm, the former governor of Michigan, said governors from states that have relied heavily on one fossil fuel industry, such as coal or oil and gas, should prioritize creating clean energy jobs for workers, adding that there are opportunities in clean energy, such as geothermal power, that use the same set of skills.

"If you're a governor, you don't want people moving to a new state," she said. "They want to be able to create those opportunities inside of your state, and every single state in the United States has something to offer as a competitive advantage in clean energy."

-ABC News’ Stephanie Ebbs and Maggie Rulli