The Corona Virus’s Impact on the Coal Industry

By: Lucas Yoo and Colin Trizuto

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Corona Virus has made a huge impact on the world today and will be remembered throughout history. Human distancing and quarantine were enforced to the entire world and many were unable to continue working their jobs. As of today, there are 5,085,504 confirmed cases and 329,731 deaths from COVID-19. The whole world is shut down and it's caused numerous problems.

With Covid-19 interfering with the Coal industry, some say that things will never be the same. Before the pandemic began, heightened climate activism, divestment campaigns and cheap alternatives were pressuring the industry. Once the pandemic began, it wiped millions from the market. And now, scientists are saying that coal has reached its peak, 200 years later.

As of right now, countries all over the world are in low demand for coal. Many of these countries because of the pandemic are closing their plants and mines because of it. This is because (obviously) people are staying home across the globe, and because of this, less energy is being used. While recently, coal has been the largest source of energy across the globe, in the coming years, it is expected to drop drastically. Many countries are vowing to switch to all renewable energy by a certain year, and many have started now by switching over to solar, wind, and other forms of renewables.

In America, it is expected that 2020 will be the first year that America’s electricity will be a majority renewable energy. And many analysts are saying that in just five years, coal consumption could drop to just ten percent. That would be a 40 percent drop in 15 years. Along with America, other countries that have made strides toward dropping coal consumption are Sweden and Austria, who have closed their last coal powered power plants in their countries. India has prioritized renewables and has a lessened demand for coal, and the Netherlands wants to reduce its thermal power plants by 75%.

Along with countries and nations, companies are starting to switch over to renewables as well. Over the last ten years, solar energy has dropped by over 75%, and public backlash of these companies has been rather negative as climate change continues to become a bigger problem within our world. Some banks aren’t accepting financing surrounding coal powered projects, and in Australia, getting funding for these projects has been increasingly difficult.

Why is relevant today? It’ll help climate change get better over time and it’ll help the future of the industries.

Discussion questions: When faced with public backlash, how could this both benefit or hurt companies? How could it benefit the world in the long run?