Coal currently provides 28 percent of the U.K.'s electricity according to Energy U.K.
"As the country that used coal to start the industrial revolution, it is right that we celebrate this historic moment as the U.K. becomes the first major economy to turn away from this deadly, polluting source of energy," John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace U.K., said in a statement ahead of Rudd's speech.
"Now we must ensure that the government prioritizes renewable energy to power the U.K. in the future," he went on to add.
Friends of the Earth were less optimistic. "Amber Rudd is certainly taking U.K. energy policy in a new direction: unfortunately it's backwards to the 20th century," Simon Bullock, senior energy campaigner at the organisation, said in a release.
"Phasing out coal – if that's what's being suggested – is essential for the climate. But switching from coal to gas is like an alcoholic switching from two bottles of whisky a day to two bottles of port," Bullock added.
"The U.K. Government's ongoing addiction to fossil fuels sends a terrible signal to crucial Paris climate talks, starting in a fortnight," he said.