G7 backs coal exit by the end of 2035, but with loopholes: The communique issued by the G7 Ministers of the Environment, Climate and Energy commits to “achieving predominantly decarbonised electricity sectors by 2035” and, with some qualifications, to “concrete and timely steps” towards phasing out unabated coal power generation. The ministers agreed – including Japan for the first time – to “end new direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022” with limited exceptions on the proviso they are consistent with a 1.5°C increase and the goals of the Paris Agreement. (Deutsche Welle, Reuters, G7 [Pdf])

Protests against clearance of Hasdeo Arand for coal mining: A protest by villagers has once again stopped state forest department workers from felling trees in the Hasdeo Arand forest in Chhattisgarh for the development of the expansion of the Parsa East Kente Basan coal mine. Opposition to the project is part of a long campaign to protest the forests. In the UK, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was challenged over his support in 2015 for the protection of tribal rights in the Hasdeo forest compared to the party’s backtracking to support mining in the area. Gandhi said that he did not support the decision of the Congress government in Chhattisgarh to back mining projects and said protests against forest clearance were “justified in some ways.” (The Wire, Hindustan Times)

Indian agency pushes pollution deadline extension: India’s Ministry of Power is seeking yet another extension to allow the country’s 398 coal units up until 2037 to comply with sulphur dioxide emissions standards first set to take effect by the end of 2017. Ever since new air pollution and water consumption standards were finalised in 2015 the ministry has succeeded in repeatedly watering them down and delaying the compliance schedule. In March 2021, plants were divided into three categories. Category A plants were those within a 10-kilometre radius of New Delhi or cities with a population of one million or more and were scheduled to comply with the standards by December 2022. Category B plants within 10 km of critically polluted areas or other cities were to comply by December 2023, and all other plants were supposed to meet the standards by 2024. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) estimates over half the capacity at category A plants, 61 per cent of category B plants, and five per cent of the capacity at category C plants will comply with the current deadline. CSE is concerned a further change risks utilities delaying installing flue gas desulphurisation units even where they have initiated steps to meet the new standards. (Down to Earth)

Indian fly ash dam floods villagers’ homes: Almost 150 people were affected by the May 7 collapse of a fly ash dam at the Bokaro Power Supply Company’s 338 megawatt (MW) Bokara coal plant. The dam breach flooded villagers’ homes with coal ash slurry. The slurry contaminated four community wells, damaged cropland and affected 22 houses. Just days before the dam’s collapse, the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board had instituted an inquiry into alleged illegal fly ash dumping by the plant operators. The Bokaro district administration determined the cause of the ash dam collapse was “poor upkeeping and management”. (NewsClick, Times of India)

Greece passes a law backing end of coal power generation: The Greek Parliament has passed legislation that sets a target for exiting coal generation by 2028 and a goal of renewables accounting for up to 70 per cent of final energy consumption by 2030. Greece currently has three operating coal plants with a combined capacity of 1925 MW and a further 660 MW lignite unit currently under construction. In 2019 the government announced it planned to shut all operating lignite plants by 2023 and all coal plants by 2028. In May 2021, the government was more bullish, stating the coal phase-out would be brought forward to 2025 with the new Ptolemaida V unit converted to run on gas. The latest change in coal exit dates follows the invasion of Ukraine and a new policy of cutting Russian gas imports and increasing domestic lignite-based coal generation. (Renewables Now)

Debate over fossil fuel exit in Colombian presidential elections: The winner of the first round of Colombia’s presidential elections has resulted in the left-wing candidate, Gustavo Petro, winning about 40 per cent of the vote. The construction industry magnate, Rodolfo Hernandez, came in second with about 28 per cent of the vote. Petro and his vice-presidential candidate, environmentalist Francia Marquez, have campaigned for Colombia, the world’s fourth-largest thermal coal exporter, to transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy. They have also pledged not to issue more fossil fuel permits. The current Colombian Government supports the continued development of the country’s coal resources. The run-off election will be held on June 19. (BBC, Mining.com)

Villagers launch legal challenge against Thai coal mine approval: Members of Kabeudin village, an Indigenous Karen community, have filed a legal challenge on behalf of 600 villagers against the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP). The villagers argue the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for a proposed 45-hectare coal mine in Omkoi district in Chiang Mai province was approved 10 years ago with limited input from the affected communities and omitted critical information. The villagers, who only found out about the project in 2019, oppose the project which the Thai-owned 99 Thuwanon Company has proposed. In 2022 an investigation by Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission agreed that the EIA breached the human rights of the affected communities and urged ONEP to review the initial decision. (Mongabay)

German court visits Peruvian lake at the heart of a case against RWE: Judges and court-appointed experts from Germany have visited Lake Palcacocha in Peru to determine a claim brought against RWE by a farmer and mountain guide Saúl Luciano Lliuya. Lliuya is seeking €17,000 (US$18,269) from RWE towards the costs of preventing damage if the lake bursts due to the glacier above it melting and causing a devastating flood affecting the downstream city of Huaraz, which is home to about 50,000 people. The case argues that as RWE has contributed 0.47 per cent of historical greenhouse gas emissions, it has contributed to the melting of the glacier, which resulted in the lake increasing in volume by 34 times in the last five decades. (Guardian)

Australia: Scientists and health professionals warn that Hunter Valley residents are breathing “extreme” levels of air pollution, with coal mines and power stations major contributors.

Canada: The Mayor of the High River municipality in Alberta has signed on to a policy that calls for a ban on new coal exploration and development in the Rocky Mountains.

India: The new 54-kilometre coal railway between Kothagudem and Sathupalli in Telangana, which will carry 10 million tonnes of coal a year, has been commissioned.

Malaysia: Power utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad has entered into a three-year coal supply agreement with Indonesian exporters worth US$3 billion, up from US$2.3 billion for the previous contract.

Netherlands: Insurer NN Group NV said it will likely bring forward its exit from coal investments from 2030.

Sweden: Parliament votes to ban new coal, oil and gas permits from July 1, 2022.

US: A judge has found Lexington Coal Company in contempt of court after failing to file a plan by April 16 to address selenium and other pollution from two West Virginia mines.

US: Environmental groups criticise the plan by Missouri regulator to shift some coal ash dams from site-specific permits to a general permit with weaker standards and monitoring requirements.

Chinese company enters into a construction contract for new coal plants in Laos: Huaxi Energy Industry, a subsidiary of China Western Power Industrial Company, has signed a US$409 million contract for the design and construction of the proposed 660 MW Nam Phan coal plant in Laos. Part of the electricity from the project is intended for export to neighbouring Vietnam. In a document filed with a Chinese stock market website, Huaxi Energy states completing the project will “improve the company’s brand awareness in overseas markets and promote the company to expand in Southeast Asia and countries along the ‘Belt and Road’.” Huaxi Energy’s announcement is at odds with President Xi Jinping’s September 2021 commitment that Chinese companies “will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad.” In April, another Chinese company, CEEC North China Institute, announced it had won a contract for the 350 MW Houaphanh coal plant in Laos. (Seetao, Huaxi Energy Industry [Pdf], Seetao)

China hits accelerator on new solar installations: The National Energy Administration (NEA) has reported that China is on track to install 108,000 MW of solar capacity this year, almost double the 54,880 MW of capacity installed in 2021. The NEA said 121,000 MW of solar projects are currently under construction. President Xi Jinping has said China aims to have 1200 gigawatts (GW) of combined wind and solar capacity by 2030, up from the current 323 GW of solar and 338 GW of wind capacity. A recent analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air suggested China is on track to have 1100 GW of wind and solar capacity installed by 2025, well ahead of the country’s current climate commitments. (Bloomberg)

India to cut coal output at coal plants to cater for increased renewables: India’s Ministry of Power has proposed cutting power generation from 81 of the country’s coal plants over the next four years to cater for growing amounts of cheaper renewable power. The ministry has selected the nominated plants as those that charge the highest tariff. The ministry estimates reducing generation at the 81 coal plants could reduce coal demand by 34.7 million tonnes. It suggested that while plants usually need to operate at a minimum of 55 per cent of capacity, it was possible to reduce their generation to 40 per cent of capacity to accommodate renewables. The climate think tank, Climate Risk Horizons, estimates that if India were on track to meet its target of 175,000 MW of renewables by 2022, it would have an additional 35,600 MW of solar capacity and 16,000 MW of wind capacity. It estimates that the extra capacity would have been sufficient to avoid the power crisis experienced in April. (Economic Times, S & P Global, Climate Risk Horizons [Pdf])

Billionaire shareholder forces Australian utility to dump demerger plan: AGL, Australia’s largest coal power polluter, has abandoned its plan to split the utility by retaining its retail arm and spinning off its generation assets, mostly coal plants, into a new company. AGL said the decision resulted from opposition to the plan by Grok Ventures, an investment company owned by Mike Cannon-Brooks, one of the billionaire founders of the Atlassian software company. Cannon-Brookes wants AGL to gradually retire its existing coal plants and play a significant role in Australia’s transition to renewables. AGL also announced its Chairman, Peter Botten, and Graeme Hunt, the CEO and Managing Director, will step down when replacements have been finalised. The utility announced one director has resigned and another will resign in August. Grok Ventures said it wants to have input into AGL’s announced strategy review. AGL operates three coal plants, the Liddell and Bayswater plants in New South Wales and the Loy Yang A brown coal plant in Victoria. (Guardian, RenewEconomy, AGL)

Australian company ponders new Mongolian mine as rail links expand:  Aspire Mining is considering the results of an engineering study that estimates the cost of a coal handling plant at its proposed Ovoot Coking Coal Project at US$77 million. The study forecast production from the mine at 2.1 million tonnes a year with washed coal to be trucked 560 kilometres on a yet to be approved dedicated haul road to Erdenet and then exported via the existing Mongolian rail network to customers in China and Russia. Mongolia is pressing ahead with constructing three rail connections to boost coal and copper exports to China. The 30 million tonnes per annum Tavan Tolgoi-Gashuun Sukhait railway line is expected to be completed in July, and the 416 kilometre Tavan Tolgoi to Zuunbayan rail line, with a capacity of 15 million tonnes a year, is slated to be completed by October. The 226 kilometre Zuunbayan to Khangi/Mandal line would have a capacity of about 20 million tonnes a year. In 2021 Mongolia was the largest metallurgical coal supplier to China. (Foreign Policy, Aspire Mining [Pdf])

Pakistan turns to import coal from shunned Afghanistan: Lacking international recognition and financial support, the Afghan Government has boosted coal exports to neighbouring Pakistan to increase revenue. An anonymous government official estimated Pakistan could be importing up to 500,000 tonnes of coal per month. “Coal exports have increased because we have paved the way for traders,” said finance ministry spokesman Ahmad Wali Haqmal, who confirmed the tax on coal exports rose from 20 per cent to 30 per cent. South Africa is currently the dominant coal supplier to Pakistan, but the surge in seaborne prices resulted in industrial customers curtailing imports. (Reuters)

“Opinion: China’s crucial role in decarbonising the global steel sector”, China Dialogue, May 23, 2022.

China produces more than half of all global steel and over 60 per cent of carbon emissions from the steel sector. This article reviews the challenges ahead for the Chinese steel sector.