Coal news and updates

War on Coal Resumes in the United States, While Europe Uses More

August 18, 2022 - A federal judge reinstated a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands that had been implemented during the Obama administration and was lifted under President Donald Trump. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Brian Morris requires government officials to conduct a new environmental review prior to resuming coal sales from federal lands. According to the judge, the government’s previous review of the program had not adequately considered the impacts of climate change from coal’s greenhouse gas emissions, among other effects. The National Mining Association is expected to appeal the ruling. The problem for Americans is that almost half the nation’s annual coal production—about 250 million tons last fiscal year—is mined from leases on federal land, mainly in Western states, including Wyoming, Montana and Colorado. Last year, 22 percent of U.S. electricity was generated from coal and 

9 percent of coal demand was used by the industrial sector, much of it high-quality metallurgical coal.

Last year, the Biden administration began a review of the greenhouse emissions that result from coal mining on federal lands as it increased scrutiny of government fossil fuel sales. The review also was to consider if companies are paying fair value for coal extracted from public coal reserves in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah and other states. So far, no changes have been announced from that review. The coal program brought in about 

$400 million for federal and state treasuries through royalties and other payments last year and it supports thousands of U.S. jobs while providing secure American electricity.

The U.S. coal industry has been in decline since the Obama administration with banks pledging to end financing, companies divesting mines and power plants, and world leaders coming close to a deal to eventually end its use at COP26 last November that was foiled  by China and India—the world’s two largest users of coal. That dwindling investment, however, has constrained supply and coal demand is now higher as Europe tries to wean itself off Russian imports by importing more seaborne coal and liquefied natural gas. Coal demand is so strong and natural gas prices so high at European power plants that some customers are buying high-quality coal typically used to make steel to generate electricity. Despite the increase in renewable capacity, coal remains the world’s main method of electricity generation, accounting for 

36 percent of global electricity generation—up 9 percent from the previous year. The EU increased its coal generation even more—by 19 percent last year.

China tasked its coal industry to boost production capacity by 300 million tons this year, and the top state-owned producer said it would boost development investment by more than half. Coal India is also expected to develop new mines, under pressure to do more to keep pace with demand from power plants and heavy industry. China and India worked together at Cop26 in Glasgow last November to change language in a global climate statement to call for a “phase down” of coal use instead of a “phase out.”  And while coal leasing has been stopped in the United States, companies in China, India and other parts of the world are making “mega profits.”