As global energy markets move towards cleaner, and increasingly cheaper, sources of energy, how are coal mining regions and communities approaching the future? What kind of transition planning is happening to ensure these communities can survive and prosper as coal mining declines?
This podcast series captures some of the conversations SEI researchers have been having about these questions with people in different coal mining communities around the world. Each episode explores different aspects of the transition away from coal.
Global energy markets are changing, as the urgency of addressing climate change ratchets up and the costs of clean energy fall rapidly. For the countries and communities that today produce coal, these changes are likely to have profound ramifications. Yet we observe that many coal mining regions are not prepared for the effects of a decline in coal demand.
This series shares insights from different countries and communities about the future, beyond coal, and how to get there as smoothly and as justly as possible.
Futures Beyond Coal is hosted here and is also available on these major podcast platforms:
Recorded mainly in late 2018, this episode explores what a decline in demand for South African coal would mean for the country, and particularly for the country’s main coal mining region Mpumalanga. We hear from Victor Munnik (University of Witwatersrand), Promise Malveni (local community member and environmental campaigner), Martin Kaggwa (National Union of Mineworkers), Mike Levington (energy sector expert and Managing Director of Navitas KLD), and Anna-Marth Ott (Middleburg Chamber of Commerce).
Listen here.
Recorded in mid 2019, this episode delves particularly into the effect that politics has on the way communities in mining regions are supported (or not) in transitioning away from coal mining. We hear from Professor Roy Green, Chair of the Port of Newcastle which is the world’s busiest coal port. We stop by think-tank The Australia Institute and talk with their Chief Economist Richard Denniss and Research Director Rod Campbell about the political dynamics around coal mining and the problems this creates for coal communities. And we speak with Karen Cain, CEO of the Latrobe Valley Authority in Victoria which was set up to help the region diversify its economy away from coal mining and coal power stations.
Listen here.
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