It Is Time To End the Era of Coal

The author contends that continuing coal mining on U.S. public lands is incompatible with climate goals, noting that coal generates nearly 60% of energy sector CO2 emissions despite providing less than 25% of electricity. The text criticizes the Bureau of Land Management's focus on whether to maintain a leasing moratorium, arguing instead for a total phase-out of federal coal production by 2030 to align with 1.5°C targets. It calls for closing leasing loopholes, ensuring pollution cleanup, and utilizing Inflation Reduction Act investments to support energy communities and tribal lands.

• Coal is a disproportionate source of climate pollution in the United States, accounting for nearly 60% of CO2 emissions from the energy sector while providing less than one-quarter of the country's electricity.
• To maintain a 50–67% chance of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C, developed nations including the United States must start phasing out coal production immediately and end it completely by 2030, according to a Tyndall Center study.
• The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is currently conducting a public process for an environmental impact statement (EIS) regarding the maintenance or revocation of a coal leasing moratorium, a process triggered by a Montana federal district court ruling on August 12, 2022.
• To effectively avoid the worst climate impacts, the BLM must go beyond a simple moratorium and close loopholes related to lease modifications, expansions, renewals that lock in long-term mining at low royalty rates, and royalty rate reductions for marginal mines.
• The transition away from fossil fuel economies should be supported by the Inflation Reduction Act's investments for "energy communities" to provide economic diversification and durable benefits to impacted families and tribal communities.

APA

Wheeler, P. (2023). It Is Time To End the Era of Coal. Earthjustice. https://earthjustice.org/experts/jenny-harbine/it-is-time-to-end-the-era-of-coal

Chicago

Wheeler, Perry. It Is Time To End the Era of Coal. Earthjustice, 2023. https://earthjustice.org/experts/jenny-harbine/it-is-time-to-end-the-era-of-coal.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Wheeler |first1=Perry |title=It Is Time To End the Era of Coal |publisher=Earthjustice |date=12 June 2023 |url=https://earthjustice.org/experts/jenny-harbine/it-is-time-to-end-the-era-of-coal |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{wheeler2023time, author = {Wheeler, Perry}, title = {{It Is Time To End the Era of Coal}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://earthjustice.org/experts/jenny-harbine/it-is-time-to-end-the-era-of-coal}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }