Coal news and updates

The history of the fossil fuel industry can feel like it is told in complicated deals the public isn’t meant to understand. This is what is happening in Sweden. The government-owned energy company, Vattenfall, is demanding the sale of its coal mines and power plants based in Germany to a Czech company, EPH. The deal includes some of Germany’s largest coal mines – and three of the top 10 most polluting coal plants in Europe. They are going to a deeply unattractive buyer – EPH, a company hell-bent on burning as much coal as possible.

In the next couple of weeks, Swedish prime minister, Stefan Löfven, is facing a stark choice. On one hand, he could approve the sale of the most climate-destroying assets in Europe, breaking his own election promises in the process. Or, he could promote a transition to keep coal in the ground – and support a liveable climate – in an unprecedented decision by a government to keep fossil fuels in the ground. Coal is the most polluting of all fossil fuels, and lignite or ‘brown coal’ is the most polluting type of coal and the greatest threat to EU climate goals.

The deal has implications much wider than just European policy. If it goes ahead, it will give an excuse for countries like Australia and Japan to continue burning coal, multiplying the negative climate impact – and shredding Sweden’s ‘clean’ image in the process.

By selling off these filthy coal assets, they will no longer be on Sweden’s books but the mines will be expanded and the brown coal will be burnt by someone else, imperilling humanity. If you applied this approach to slavery, a trading company would sell their slaves to a more brutal owner to clear their conscience while undermining abolition.

For the last four years, EPH has been buying up dirty coal mines and plants across Europe. It now has one billion tonnes of coal and 5GW of coal power plants.

Source: The Guardian