THE COAL COMPANIES WATCHLIST

The report finds that the vast majority of analyzed coal companies have failed to implement credible phase-out plans, with only 6% meeting basic criteria. Many companies continue to expand coal capacity, set exit dates beyond 2040, or use 'greenwashing' tactics such as selling assets to other owners or converting coal plants to gas and biomass. The authors argue that current 'soft' engagement by financial institutions is ineffective due to a lack of strong sanctions, and they call for robust coal exit policies that condition financial services on Paris-aligned plans.

• Only a small fraction of analyzed coal companies have credible phase-out plans. Out of 47 companies, only 3 (6%) meet all basic criteria, which include no expansion, an adequate timeline, and a commitment to shut down assets.
• A significant portion of the analyzed companies are actively expanding coal capacity or failing to align with 1.5°C pathways. Specifically, 28% are identified as coal expansionists, and 55% do not plan to retire coal assets by the 2030 (OECD/Europe) and 2040 (rest of world) deadlines.
• Companies often use asset sales or fuel conversions to appear sustainable without reducing absolute emissions. 11% of companies provide adequate calendars but fail to shut down assets, instead selling them or converting them to gas and biomass.
• Financial institutions that demand phase-out plans continue to provide significant funding to non-compliant companies. In 2021, five major banks (BNP Paribas, BPCE, Credit Agricole, Société Générale, and Unicredit) provided over $9 billion in new financing to the analyzed coal companies.
• The 'Climate Action 100+' (CA100+) investor engagement initiative has not produced significantly better results than individual investor efforts, as its target companies show similar levels of failure in their coal phase-out plans as non-target companies.
• Case studies highlight specific failures: Glencore is expanding coal capacity in Australia and South Africa; HK Electric is replacing coal with gas and LNG; RWE is converting plants to biomass and litigating against the Dutch government's phase-out; and Engie is selling assets and converting plants to biomass or gas.

APA

Her, H., Hernández, A., & Pottier, G. (2021). THE COAL COMPANIES WATCHLIST. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2112_RF_Coal-Companies-Watchlist_vFinal.pdf

Chicago

Her, Henri, Andrea Hernández, and Guillaume Pottier. THE COAL COMPANIES WATCHLIST. Reclaim Finance, 2021. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2112_RF_Coal-Companies-Watchlist_vFinal.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Her |first1=Henri |last2=Hernández |first2=Andrea |last3=Pottier |first3=Guillaume |title=THE COAL COMPANIES WATCHLIST |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=December 2021 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2112_RF_Coal-Companies-Watchlist_vFinal.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{her2021coal, author = {Her, Henri and Hernández, Andrea and Pottier, Guillaume}, title = {{THE COAL COMPANIES WATCHLIST}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2112_RF_Coal-Companies-Watchlist_vFinal.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }