Climate Accountability at Peabody Energy

The Union of Concerned Scientists evaluated Peabody Energy's climate actions from July 2016 to June 2018, finding that while the company follows best practices in political spending disclosure, it remains 'egregious' in its lack of emissions reduction targets and its support for the US withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement. The company is criticized for downplaying climate science in public statements and maintaining leadership roles in trade associations that spread climate disinformation.

• Peabody Energy demonstrates best practices in the disclosure, policy, and oversight of its corporate political spending, including public disclosure of contributions to candidates and the use of a specified board committee for oversight.
• The company's public communications on climate change downplay the necessity of reducing emissions, framing fossil fuel emissions as a 'concern' rather than the primary cause of global warming and emphasizing coal's 'essential' role in energy.
• Peabody Energy maintains leadership and membership roles in several industry groups that spread climate disinformation, including the US Chamber of Commerce, the National Mining Association (NMA), and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), without distancing itself from their claims.
• The company lacks any formal plans or targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations or the use of its products, and it does not utilize an internal carbon price for investment decisions.
• Peabody Energy actively opposed the Clean Power Plan using climate science disinformation and publicly supported the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris climate agreement.
• While the company identifies some regulatory and physical risks, it fails to specify the potential impact of climate liability lawsuits or the specific role of climate change in contributing to physical risks.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2018). Climate Accountability at Peabody Energy. https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/10/gw-Accountability-scorecard18-Peabody-Energy.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Climate Accountability at Peabody Energy. 2018. https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/10/gw-Accountability-scorecard18-Peabody-Energy.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Climate Accountability at Peabody Energy |date=October 2018 |url=https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/10/gw-Accountability-scorecard18-Peabody-Energy.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2018climate, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Climate Accountability at Peabody Energy}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2018}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/10/gw-Accountability-scorecard18-Peabody-Energy.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }