Coal
South Korea to implement Green New Deal after ruling party election win
Seoul is to set a 2050 net zero emissions goal and end coal financing, after the Democratic Party’s landslide victory in one of the world’s first Covid-19 elections
China-backed coal plants on EU’s doorstep hide huge carbon costs
Feasibility studies for two major coal power projects in Bosnia and Serbia – backed by Chinese banks – downplay the costs of emissions and ignore air and water pollution
Court blocks Polish coal plant, in win for climate campaigners
Client Earth successfully challenged the Ostrołęka C project on behalf of shareholders, arguing it was a bad financial bet as renewables become competitive
Germany ready to join global coal phase-out alliance: environment minister
Now its coal commission has recommended a 2038 exit date, Germany can join a global alliance to end coal burning, Svenja Schulze tells Taz newspaper
Turkish supreme court blocks coal plant, as wave of new projects stalls
Local opposition won a legal ruling against a major project on the Black Sea coast – the latest challenge to Turkey’s plans to expand coal use
Germany to quit coal by 2038, under commission proposal
After late-night talks, a dedicated commission has agreed a timetable to phase out coal burning in Europe’s largest economy
On their patron saint’s day, Polish miners pray for a decent future
Twenty kilometres from Cop24 climate talks in Katowice, mining trade unionists look to St Barbara, not Warsaw, Brussels or the UN, for answers to their struggles
Greenpeace threatens to sue coal utility in Poland
Activists are calling on PGE to phase out coal by 2030 and switch to clean energy, or face legal action
Polish utility sued over financial risk of €1.2bn coal plant
Client Earth argues the Ostrołęka C power plant investment is a bad bet, putting the spotlight on Poland’s support for coal as it gears up to host UN climate talks
South Korean province joins international coal phase-out club
South Chungcheong becomes the biggest coal user and first Asian region in the Powering Past Coal Alliance, reflecting local opposition to polluting plants
Poland’s ‘last coal power plant’ depends on subsidies, say analysts
A planned EU phase-out of state aid to fossil fuel power generation could make the Ostrołęka C coal station project unprofitable within years, according to Carbon Tracker
Pakistan to apply strict green rules on Chinese coal deals: Imran Khan advisor
The country is locked into “potential disaster” coal projects, says new PM’s climate chief Malik Amin Aslam, promising to make the “best out of a bad situation”
Job of ending coal in Germany handed to 31-member committee
Commission will set a phase-out timeline for coal, but greens warn it may be too weak and divided to salvage Germany’s reputation as a climate leader
German coal phase-out commission to balance jobs with climate
Leaked strategy paper leads on jobs and calls for environmental concerns to be ‘harmonised’ with economic development
US agency calls for ban on controversial coal mine ‘self-bonds’
The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office is urging Congress to make coal mining companies pay for environmental clean-up and reduce the risk to taxpayers
Coal tycoon governor Jim Justice uses loophole to leave mines and workers idle
Companies owned by WV governor exploited a supposedly temporary status to defer environmental clean up and leave miners in limbo, in some cases for decades
What happens to the land after coal mines close?
Across the country, mining land has been reclaimed at low cost, leaving communities with few alternatives to rebuild their economies
Crackdown on coal mine ‘self-bonds’ stalls under Trump
Regulators have almost wiped out risky practice since 2015-16 wave of bankruptcies, but some coal companies still insure themselves
Obama official: Trump cuts will leave coal clean-up agency unable to function
The number of mine site inspections is falling and proposed budget cuts at the federal regulator will further erode oversight, a former top official warns
Why and how we investigated the coal industry’s clean-up funds
The Reclaiming Coal investigation involved six months of crunching data from state and federal agencies, coupled with travel across the country