Global coal industry in peril – Greenpeace

MANILA, Philippines -  The fall of the coal industry is imminent following the recorded decrease of the sector’s revenue in other countries and the tapping of more accessible and safer sources of energy, Greenpeace Philippines said yesterday.

In a statement, Greenpeace Philippines, together with Climate Reality Project Philippines underlined the benefits of renewable energy through knowledge sharing by individuals and organizations that have had experience in using renewable energy in their homes and businesses.

 The global wave of actions against dirty and harmful energy through the Break Free from Fossil Fuels campaign is an indication that citizen action is very much alive and kicking, an inexhaustible source of energy and inspiration for all, which is contrary to certain claims that coal will continue to flourish.

 “The fight for the future of the planet and the climate is a fight that unites us all. Integral to this struggle is to break free from fossil fuels and to demand a swift and just transition to renewables,” Reuben Muni, Climate and Energy Campaigner of Greenpeace Philippines, said.

Muni cited that even American billionaire investor Warren Buffett has recently said he doubted that coal could make a comeback, dismissing a push by US President Donald Trump to revive the declining American industry.

“If you are tied to coal, you’ve got problems,” Buffett told the annual shareholders meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway holding company in Omaha, Nebraska, which was posted by phys.org on its webpage.

“Coal is going to go down over time,” said the American called the “Oracle of Omaha” for his savvy – and lucrative – ability to read trends and markets. “I don’t think there’s any question about that coal is going to go down as a percentage of revenue significantly.”

 It was learned that America’s coal industry has been shrinking for decades. 

The sector had 862,000 workers in 1923. 

In 2016, there were just 81,000 according to available figures.

Earlier this year, disaster survivors, front line communities, indigenous peoples, farmers, youth, women and civil society groups in the provinces of Bataan, Cebu, Leyte and other parts of the country have carried out various protest activities to join the second global wave of actions to Break Free from fossil fuels.

“We have seen that when people are given the choice between dirty and polluting energy sources such as coal, and clean energy sources like solar and wind, people will choose that which they think will benefit them the most-renewable energy,” Muni said.

“We are calling on the Philippine government and financial institutions to act immediately and invest more in sustainable energy powered by wind, water, and the sun. We should phase out investments in coal, oil, and gas and enable a just transition by scaling up renewable energy,” said Raphael Dorilag, Energy Project Officer of World Wide Fund for Nature.