Coal news and updates

The U.S. coal industry is in big trouble. This year alone, eight companies have filed for bankruptcy protection,  Murray Energy is the latest one. Bob Murray’s friendship with President Trump could not save the company. After all, the death of coal is due to fracking, not regulation. 

While these bankruptcies might be good news for climate change, they have caused havoc for coal miners and coal communities. Typically, bankrupt coal companies renege on their pension and healthcare obligations. Miners and pensioners are virtually left penniless. Just follow any story on Appalachia to get a sense of the social and economic chaos that collapsing coal inflicts on local communities. 

Coal implosion should hold important lessons for Alberta’s oil sands economy. Afterall, both coal and oil contribute to climate change. Both are vulnerable to regulatory and market challenges. It seems that Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau does not see the decline of oil to be inevitable. In 2018, courts blocked the construction of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Pipeline, which would carry Alberta’s oil to the Pacific Ocean. Trudeau’s government intervened and purchased the pipeline for $4.5 billion (and has committed additional billions of dollars for its expansion). 

But Albertans remain suspicious of Trudeau and Ottawa. Some even want to secede from Canada! In 2019 election, his Liberal party drew blank in Alberta. So how does he win over Albertans? At his first Press conference after the 2019 reelection, Trudeau declared that his government is committed to fighting climate change and building the Trans Mountain Pipeline.  

This is where a leadership deficit is showing. Instead of pandering to Alberta, Trudeau should have shown tough love. The reason is simple: the pipeline provides a false sense of economic security and discourages Alberta from diversifying away from the tar sands. 

 

Source : https://www.forbes.com