Last month, London Mining Network and friends hosted two representatives of Colombian coal mine workers’ union Sintracarbon, who organise workers at the Cerrejón mine, owned by Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Glencore. Christine Haigh of LMN member group Global Justice Now reflects on the visit, the impacts of coal mining and the tension between fossil fuel divestment and the needs of coal mine workers.
Meanwhile, Lord Turner, the former head of the UK’s now-defunct Financial Services Authority warned of a ‘carbon bubble’ threat to investors from climate change. London-listed Standard Chartered Bank has vowed to review its role in an Australian coal mine project which campaigners say threatens the Great Barrier Reef.
The student-led Fossil Free Universities campaign has scored a significant victory and suffered a great disappointment: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine decided to divest from coal companies but the University of Edinburgh decided not to divest.