Coal India one of world's 16 top cos “exposed" to risks of human rights violations, climate liability
Coal India, with an annual coal production of 538.8 million metric tonnes, ranks No 1 of all the world’s coal producing units. Revealing this, a high-profile civil society report, “Banking on Climate Change: Fossil Fuel Finance Report 2019” has said that Coal India is among 16 top coal producing companies 16 key companies “exposed to potential risk due to human rights and climate liability.”
China’s National Energy Investment Group ranks No 2 with an annual coal production of 510.0 million metric tonnes, followed by China Guodian Corporation producing 171.6 million metric tonnes, Datong Coal Mine Group producing 167.0 million metric tonnes, and China National Coal Group producing 159.3 million metric tonnes.
The 15 key companies other than Coal India exposed to potential risk due to human rights and climate liability identified by the report are Energy Transfer, Drummond, TransCanada, ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell, BP, Peabody, Total, Saudi Aramco, Gazprom, National Iranian Oil Company, Pemex, and CNPC (PetroChina).
Giving the example of Tata Mundra power plant in Kutch, Gujarat, which has used coal for producing electricity, the report says, “Efforts to hold financial institutions legally accountable for damages by clients recently saw an important milestone. In an historic decision, in February 2019, the United States Supreme Court held that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) can be sued and found liable for the pollution of air, land, and water, resulting from the IFC financing of the privately held Tata Mundra Ultra Mega coal-fired power plant.”
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