Big news from Britain last week: they plan to close all coal-fired power plants that are not capturing and storing the carbon they produce by 2025. Why is this big news? Britain is the first country putting a date forward – that should increase the likelihood of it actually happening… in theory.

But before you bring out the carbon neutral champagne, pause for a moment and allow for the party-pooping skeptics to enter. There are some dampers on this potentially great piece of climate history, nicely summarized by the Washington Post here:

(1) The bulk of the current coal generation will be replaced with natural gas – the celebrated bridge fuel as long as it doesn’t leak methane. More renewables and storage would have made this a bigger celebration.

(2) Britain finds itself in good company among other developed economies about reducing subsidies to promote a low carbon energy footprint – in Britain subsidies for onshore wind, solar and energy efficiency are on the chopping block . Just one difference: Britain’s subsidies policy is even more unpredictable than the wind and sun patterns that make those renewables intermittent.

(3) And then there is this hesitation about the Conservatives’ true dedication to mitigate climate change. When we compare their rhetoric to coherent policy action and transparency we remember Prime Minister Cameron’s 2010 promise of “greenest government ever” and Amber Rudd’s assurance that the UK is on path to meet the EU renewables targets and thus has room to cut solar and wind subsidies when in fact that path isn’t quite so assured. Ms Rudd is also the cabinet member articulating to the public that Britain will wean itself off coal and “feels” the ability to deliver subsidy-free low carbon energy to Britain.

Allow us – and some leading climate scientists – to overcome all that cognitive dissonance before we join the celebrations, will you Ms Rudd? But a glimmer of hope remains that this time it’s for real.