Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: The World Coal Association (WCA) appears generally oppositional to ambitious global climate change policy, although there is limited evidence of engagement with specific climate-related regulations in recent years. WCA also continues to support a significant role for coal in the future energy mix, alongside the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: WCA appears to support climate policy in its top-line messaging. WCA appeared to support the goals set in the Paris Agreement and the need for government regulation to respond to climate change on its main website, accessible in February 2023. This is in contrast to positions held by the organization in a Climate Change Position Statement in 2020, in which climate solutions that heavily rely on technology such as CCS in the long-term were emphasized. On the WCA Climate Change Position Page, accessed in February 2023, the organization ‘recognised’ but did not take a clear position on limiting global temperature rises to well below 2°C in line with IPCC guidance.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: WCA appears to have limited transparent engagement with specific climate-related regulation. On the Climate Change Position page of its main website, accessible in February 2023, the organization claimed to support the ‘global movement to reduce emissions’, although it did not reference a specific policy action or pathway.
Positioning on Energy Transition: WCA actively promotes a sustained role for coal in the energy mix, which appears greater than the predicted role for coal under the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C. On its ‘Coal Facts’ webpage, accessible in February 2023, WCA stated that ‘Coal is critical to our world’. In February 2023, WCA appeared to execute an advertising strategy across social media to influence public opinion in favor of coal and its long-term role in the energy mix, stating support for its use in a range of sectors, such as in the production of hydrogen and in transportation, electricity and manufacturing.
WCA CEO Michelle Manook appeared to consistently support a continued role for coal in the energy mix, such as in a media statement published in April 2022, in which costs and energy shortages associated with a clean energy transition were emphasized. Furthermore, in a September 2022 media statement, Manook appeared to support a continued role for coal in the energy mix, referencing the deployment of CCS and other abatement technologies. However, the supported role for coal appears greater than the IPCC’s predicted role for the fuel type and technology.