Michael Bloomberg’s ‘war on coal’ goes global with $50m fund

Exclusive: Billionaire's campaign has seen half of US coal plants close in six years. Now he is targeting Europe and beyond to fight climate change and air pollution

The battle to end coal-burning, backed by billionaire Michael Bloomberg, is expanding out of the US and around the world in its bid to reduce the global warming threat posed by the most polluting fossil fuel.

Bloomberg, a UN special envoy on climate change and former mayor of New York city, has funded a $164m campaign in the US since 2010, during which time more than half the nation's coal-fired power plants have been closed.