Britain’s three main parties made an extraordinary joint commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions, including ending power generation from high-emitting coal plants.

Announced in a statement on Saturday, the agreement between the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats did not give a time frame for phasing out plants unless they have emissions capturing technology. But campaigners welcomed the cross-party announcement and said Britain was the first major economy to make such an explicit promise.

Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Opposition Leader Ed Miliband said that acting on climate change was “an opportunity for the UK to grow a stronger economy, which is more efficient and more resilient to the risks ahead”.