Every good change has its price. The world is shifting to cleaner energy sources, boosting sustainable development, but the downside is that roughly 4 million coal workers are set to lose their jobs by 2050, according to a Global Energy Monitor report released on October 10. . According to the report, coal industry workers in India and China are the most affected. The report predicts that Coal India will cut more than 70,000 jobs by 2050.
What does the report say?
The report says an average of 100 coal mine workers a day are on the brink of potential unemployment by 2035 due to market shifts towards wind and solar power generation and mine closures. Approximately 4,14,200 workers, which is about half a million, operate the coal mines that may close completely before 2035, which would negatively affect the livelihood of about 100 workers per day.
By 2050, the report states, a total of 9,90,200 coal mining jobs will no longer be in operating mines due to foreseeable coal industry closures. This means potentially laying off roughly 37 percent of the industry’s existing workforce. In addition to all this information, the report also emphasizes that there is a need to transition to clean energy in an equitable manner.
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The report says Shanxi province in China will shed the most jobs in this regard globally. By 2050, a total of 2,41,900 jobs will be eliminated in the mining industry in this Chinese province. The figure is apparently close to a quarter of a million.
Coal India, on the other hand, will see a potential job loss of more than 73,800 by 2050.
Harmful effects of clean energy transition on coal jobs
Global warming is an alarming cause for the world and therefore the most effective way for countries to reduce global warming is by reducing human-caused carbon emissions. This process is known as decarbonization. One way of decarbonization is to switch to cleaner forms of energy and reduce coal production by closing existing mines. However, the other side of the coin says that the coal industry is actually an important source of livelihood for many. This source of livelihood could not be stolen from the people, especially in rural areas, who depend on the industry for their income.
The United States-based non-governmental organization, Global Energy Monitor, works to collect and publish clean energy data around the world. Such information includes the transition to such clean energy sources and full employment information at the 4,300 proposed and active coal projects and mines worldwide that together account for more than 90 percent of global coal production. All this is done with the help of Global Coal Mine Tracker.
The Tracker estimates potential job cuts and captures the “life of the mine” of the operation — effectively a timeframe for how long coal companies intend to mine coal at a site based on existing permits, leases, available reserves and other important economic considerations.
Regarding the analysis of this non-governmental organization, data from mines in over 70 countries were used in the analysis. One such country is India, which has an estimated number of 3.3 lakh workers working in coal mines.
According to the report, most of the mines expected to close in the coming decades actually have no plans to extend the life of such operations or to transition to a post-coal economy.
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Regional balances
Tiffany Means, co-author of the Global Energy Monitor report says: “The coal industry has a long list of mines that will close in the near future – many of them state-owned enterprises with a state stake.”
“Governments must shoulder their share of the burden to ensure a managed transition for these workers and communities as we move to a clean energy economy.” added the author.
What does it mean to transition to clean energy in a “fair” way? In this scenario, a “just” transition would mean ensuring the rehabilitation of workers who lose their jobs as a result of the transition.
According to the International Labor Organization, a “just” transition is about “greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible for all concerned, creating opportunities for decent work and leaving no one behind.”
Professor at IIM, Calcutta, Runa Sarkar, believes the report is nothing more than a “wake-up call” to the seriousness of the situation. In a press conference, the professor informed that the coal mining area of West Bengal was the most affected by the closure of the mines. Moreover, for every individual working in the formal economy that is affected, at least four individuals working in the informal sector are affected by the mine closure, Sarkar expressed.
The professor also said that although the situation may become problematic in the future, coal production is currently growing in India. There have been several talks about restarting some of the closed mines in order to combat the growing demand. Moreover, in October 2022, the Indian government put forward new mine closure guidelines designed to address the associated socioeconomic and environmental issues.
Sarkar says there is much work to be done to build a circular economy around coal that understands that “a coal mining town is about to become much more than just coal.”
She additionally referred to the fact that the regions that are actually rich in coal are not actually where the climate is such that there is no abundance of sun and wind. This means that the closure of coal mines in such areas would mean an increase in regional imbalances. All these concerns make a broad bottom-up debate on the energy transition a mandate to ensure a sustainable, fair and regionally balanced transition.
A little about Coal India
Coal India Limited (CIL) is a central public sector undertaking in India under the auspices of the Ministry of Coal, Government of India. CIL is headquartered in Kolkata. Coal India Limited (CIL) is the largest state-owned coal producer worldwide. Not to be missed, Coal India Limited also employs more than 272,000 employees, making it the ninth largest employer in the country.
Coal India Limited supplies coal at prices that are discounted to international prices. The public sector undertaking protects India’s coal consumers from price volatility.
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Categories: Trends
Source: newstars.edu.vn