The World Coal Affiliation, the commerce physique for the coal trade, has modified its title in a bid to revamp the picture of the dirtiest fossil gas and entice new members.
At a press convention in Delhi, the affiliation’s chief government Michelle Manook stated the rebrand – to “FutureCoal – The World Alliance for Sustainable Coal” – was a response to calls from trade stakeholders to modernise and usher in new members from throughout the complete coal worth chain.
The physique is pushing for an “inclusive” worldwide coverage framework that helps the rights of coal producing and consuming international locations as strain intensifies to section out the fossil gas, which is the one greatest contributor to man-made local weather change.
In assertion, Manook stated: “For too lengthy our world coal worth chain has allowed anti-coal sentiment to dominate and fragment us, which has resulted in a reducing of the worldwide coal IQ.”
Clarifying the that means of “coal IQ”, FutureCoal stated it referred to the extent of understanding of coal’s contribution to society in sectors past energy, reminiscent of metal, fertilisers, vital minerals and hydrogen, and that abatement applied sciences can scale back air pollution from burning coal.
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For too lengthy our world coal worth chain has allowed anti-coal sentiment to dominate and fragment us, which has resulted in a reducing of the worldwide coal IQ.
Michelle Manook, CEO, FutureCoal
The trade physique stated that unfavourable sentiment surrounding coal had “diminished the capability and progress” of susceptible creating nations.
“FutureCoal could appear daring to some however for a lot of it’s merely consultant of the actuality we’re confronted with,” stated Manhook, including that the contribution of coal to fashionable society “ought to neither be dismissed nor disregarded.”
Positioning coal as “sustainable” has been a typical characteristic of communications to advertise coal initiatives in key producer international locations. In June, Indonesia’s largest coal miner, Adaro, was criticised for greenwashing for selling a deliberate coal-powered aluminium smelter as a inexperienced, renewable improvement. Indonesia’s sustainable finance taxonomy can also be going through scrutiny for proposing to classify coal vegetation that energy sustainable industries as inexperienced.
The trade affiliation’s rebrand, which was devised by Mumbai-based model consultancy Chlorophyll, comes simply over per week forward of the COP28 local weather talks. The European Union is pushing for a phaseout of all fossil fuels at COP28. On the COP26 talks in Glasgow in 2021, key coal producers China and India blocked an settlement to section out coal.
