The coal industry in the United States was the first source of funding for climate denial during the late ‘80s and ‘90s. The industry knew that its survival depended on undermining climate change science and threw its considerable influence and power into funding climate denial. BRENDAN MONTAGUE investigates
A protester acquitted last week of trespassing on the Bradley coal mine site in County Durham has spoken exclusively to The Ecologist. ALEXANDRA HEAL reports
The Balkans are determined to stay in the coal era - even while most countries in Europe are making plans for a future without coal, argues MARINA KELAVA.
The entrance to the headquarters of KBC bank in Brussels was taken by environmental activists Thursday concerned about the financial and climatic risks of coal investments in the Czech Republic. Hours later, the bank surprised the activists by announcing an end to all new coal investments. NICK MEYNEN reports in the inaugural post for our ENVJUSTICE series
PATRICK CARR is a lifelong coal mine protester from the Pont Valley. As campaigners are evicted from the site by police he explains in his own words what inspired him to join the movement.
Police have arrested two activists taking part in a protest against an open cast coal mine in County Durham. Campaigners claim the eviction could collapse tunnels and injure protesters inside. CATHERINE EARLY reports
Theresa May and her Conservative government has promised to phase out the burning of coal in the UK by 2025. This should be a cause of celebration for climate change campaigners. But the plans have three dangerous loopholes, which means activists must remain vigilant, argues ALMUTH ERNSTING
A combination of community resistance, phase out commitments by governments, cities and businesses, and rapid cost reductions in renewable energy has resulted in a huge slump in construction of new coal plants. CATHERINE EARLY reports
Toxins in the air have reached “hazardous” levels in Pristina, Kosovo, last week. A ban on cars is welcome. But the real problem is the lignite coal plants nearby. So why is the Kosovo government, the US and the World Bank all supporting yet another new plant in the region? JACK DAVIES and GIOVANNI VALE investigate
The UK was among the countries which signed up to the Powering Past Coal alliance, launched at the Bonn climate talks. But with coal generating just two percent of power in August, meeting the target of 2025 is all to easy. For other European countries - Poland and Spain included - phasing out coal will be an even greater challenge. NATALIE BENNETT investigates.
The opencast coal mine at Ffos-y-Fran near Merthyr Tydfil in Wales is the UK’s largest - and has produced eight million tonnes of coal. Now Miller Argent, the owner and operator, wants to extend the mine. Banks Mining has applied for planning permission to begin a new mine at Highthorn, in Northumberland. The application will go before Sajid Javid, the Communities Secretary, today. MAT HOPE of DeSmog UK spoke to the people most affected.
In Colombia, whole villages are suffering due to the mining of coal which is destined for Europe. However, the local villagers are now unionising and fighting for more rights. MARINA KELAVA reports.
At the start of September 6000 people from across Europe gathered at Ende Gelände in Germany, to shut down Europe’s largest coal mine in a mass act of civil disobedience. LINDSAY ALDERTON shares a little of what she experienced there.
The advancement in technology and recent UK government policy announcements both point towards the successful take over of the electric car, even where other energy innovations have failed. Dr Christian Jardine assesses the latest developments
The Adani-Carmichael Coal Mine is an enduring stain on Australia’s underdeveloped environmental policies, with new fraud cases and environmental assessment reports weighing the venture down. Australian environmentalist MARIAH SAMPSON takes a look at the current state of affairs surrounding the plans for the biggest open coal mine in the world.
China's coal extraction and consumption peaked years ago and much sooner than anticipated. But the Silk Belt and Road Initiative – a massive foreign investments plan – seems to outsource China's emissions. Just like we in the West did, when we moved production to China. Ecological economists, FEDERICO DEMARIA and JOAN MARTINEZ ALIER report
President Trump's recent executive order could open an area of America's most precious landscapes bigger than Yellowstone to oil drilling and coal mining, write Lawrence Carter & Joe Sandler Clarke. The 27 monuments 'under review' harbour huge volumes of oil, gas and coal: just what's needed to fuel Trump's vision of fossil fuel-led development - never mind the cost to scenery, wildlife, historic sites and indigenous cultures.
The mighty Asian Development Bank is celebrating its 50th birthday this week in Yokohama, Japan, writes Hemantha Withanage. But the victims of ADB's $3 billion coal funding have little to be glad of - whether local communities impacted by mines and power stations, or people everywhere suffering climate change. ADB must stop financing coal now!
The Drax power station in Yorkshire is the UK's biggest CO2 emitter, burns more wood each year than the entire UK timber harvest, and is a major importer of coal from strife-stricken regions of Colombia, writes Frances Howe. This Thursday campaigners will target the company's AGM to highlight its impacts on forests, biodiversity, climate and communities, in the face of Drax's PR offensive to make biomass appear 'sustainable'.
In a potentially devastating blow to the Earth's climate, President Trump's new executive order ends the Interior Department's moratorium on coal mining on public land and begins a repeal of the landmark Clean Power Plan, writes Trip Van Noppen. But this reckless move will not pass unchallenged - the Supreme Court has ruled that the EPA must tackle climate pollution, and clean energy policies can still be defended and advanced at state level.
The UK Government is planning a coal-free energy future by 2025, writes Deniz Kemal. But it has failed to take the first step to make it happen: give clear guidance to local planners to block new coal mines on climate change grounds - like one application going to public inquiry this summer for a huge opencast mine on the Northumberland coast.
The coal power station at Aberthaw is not just polluting much of South Wales with its filthy emissions. It could also be seriously damaging the health of children in Colombia with coal dust from BHP Billiton's massive Cerrejón coal mine. In this open letter, Luz Ángela Uriana Epiayu implores RWE npower to shut down its stinking, obsolete and illegal power station.
