GGP: Can U.S. Coal Make a Comeback?

The statements, opinions and data contained in the content published in Global Gas Perspectives are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publisher and the editor(s) of Natural Gas World.

This is an episode Center on Global Energy Policy’s Columbia Energy Exchange podcast series.

Over the last six years coal prices have gone from record highs to plummeting lows, putting three of the four largest U.S. coal firms into bankruptcy. Although coal mining employment has been declining for decades, Donald Trump campaigned for the U.S. presidency on a platform that promised to reverse what he called his predecessor’s “war on coal.” Since taking office, the new administration has begun to reverse Obama-era environmental policies, and is fielding increasing calls from policymakers and industry alike to do more for coal firms and jobs. This month, West Virginia governor Jim Justice proposed that the federal government provide subsidies to revive the Appalachian coal industry, calling the issue a matter of national security. Yet the Trump Administration rejected a coal industry push to win a rarely used emergency order to protect coal-fired power plants, a decision that has angered some coal executives.

To put all of these recent developments into context, host Jason Bordoff sits down with Trevor Houser on Columbia Energy Exchange. They discuss a report they co-authored together with Peter Marsters this year--Can Coal Make a Comeback?--about the U.S. coal industry, its decline, and prospects for its recovery. Trevor is a partner at the Rhodium Group, and he leads the firm’s energy and natural resources practice. He previously served as a senior advisor to the US State Department. 

Among many topics Jason and Trevor discuss, several include:

• Leading domestic and international factors dictating the future of the U.S. coal industry
• What policies government leaders can enact to support coal communities
• Coal demand in Asia and factors influencing the future
• The impact of clean energy technologies on coal

Listen to the full conversation

The statements, opinions and data contained in the content published in Global Gas Perspectives are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publisher and the editor(s) of Natural Gas World.