The global coal industry may have to shed nearly 1 million jobs by 2050, even without any further pledges to phase out fossil fuels, with China and India facing the biggest losses according to research from Global Energy Monitor.
In the coming decades, hundreds of labour-intensive mines are expected to close as they reach the end of their lifespans and countries transition to cleaner low-carbon energy sources.
However, as pointed out by the U.S.-based think tank Global Energy Monitor (GEM), “most of the mines likely to shut down have no planning underway to extend the life of those operations or to manage a transition to a post-coal economy.”
Dorothy Mei, project manager for GEM’s Global Coal Mine Tracker, emphasized the need for governments to make plans to ensure workers do not suffer during the energy transition.
She stated,
- “Coal mine closures are inevitable, but economic hardship and social strife for workers are not.”
Methodology of the study
GEM analyzed 4,300 active and proposed coal mine projects worldwide, covering a total workforce of nearly 2.7 million.
The research revealed that more than 400,000 workers are employed in mines set to cease operations before 2035.
If measures were taken to phase down coal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), GEM estimated that only 250,000 miners, which is less than 10% of the current workforce, would be required worldwide.
About the coal industry
China’s coal industry, the world’s largest, currently employs more than 1.5 million people, according to GEM’s estimates.
Of the expected 1 million job losses globally by 2050, more than 240,000 are anticipated in the province of Shanxi alone.
China’s coal sector has already undergone several waves of restructuring in recent decades, with many mining districts in the north and northeast struggling to find alternative sources of growth and employment following pit closures.
Ryan Driskell Tate, GEM’s program director for coal, commented,
- “The coal industry, on the whole, has a notoriously bad reputation for its treatment of workers.”
He stressed the importance of proactive planning for workers and coal communities to ensure that both industry and governments remain accountable to those who have endured the consequences for so long.
