The Politics of Subsidies to Coal Extraction in Colombia

Strambo, Claudia; Espinosa, Ana Carolina González; Velasco, Angélica Puertas; Atteridge, Aaron

doi:10.1017/9781108241946.016

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In addition, royalties from coal exports are currently being used to finance the ongoing peace process (Presidencia de la República de Colombia, 2017). The interrelations between the coal industry and politics are also highlighted by Strambo, Espinosa, Velasco, and Atteridge (2018).…”

Section: Coal Mining Activities In Colombiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects for steam coal exporters in the era of climate policies: a case study of Colombia

Oei

Mendelevitch

2018

Climate Policy

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Continued global action on climate change has major consequences for fossil fuel markets, especially for coal as the most carbon-intensive fuel. This article summarizes current market developments in the most important coal-producing and coal-consuming countries, resulting in a critical qualitative assessment of prospects for future coal exports. Colombia, as the world's fourth largest exporter, is strongly affected by these global trends, with more than 90% of its production being exported. Market analysis finds Colombia in a strong competitive position, owing to its low production costs and high coal quality. Nevertheless, market trends and enhanced climate policies suggest a gloomy outlook for future exports. Increasing competition on the Atlantic as well as Pacific market will keep coal prices low and continue pressure on mining companies. Increasing numbers of filed bankruptcies and lay-offs might be just the beginning of a carbon bubble devaluing fossil fuel investments and leaving them stranded. Colombia largely supplies European and Mediterranean consumers but also delivers some quantities to the US Gulf Coast, and to Central and South America. Future coal demand in most of these countries will continue to decline in the next decades. Newly constructed power plants in emerging economies (India, China) are unlikely to compensate for this downturn owing to increasing domestic supply and decreasing demand. Therefore, maintaining or even increasing mining volumes in Colombia should be re-evaluated, taking into account new economic realities as well as local externalities. Ignoring these risks could lead to additional stranded investments, aggravating the local resource curse and hampering sustainable economic development. Key policy insights. The climate policies of most of Colombia's traditional trade partners target steam coal as the more emission-intensive fossil fuel, with many countries implementing or considering a coal phase-out.. Coal exporters should re-evaluate their operations and new investments taking into account this new policy environment.. To prevent a race to the bottom among coal producers that would favour weak regulation, climate policy makers should also consider the local social and external costs of coal mining, including on health and the local environment.

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Section: Coal Mining Activities In Colombiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects for steam coal exporters in the era of climate policies: a case study of Colombia

Oei

Mendelevitch

2018

Climate Policy

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“…There is a growing body of literature which seeks to situate coal production and consumption in particular places within broader political economic contexts. For instance, Burton, Lott, and Rennkamp () and Strambo, González Espinosa, Velasco, and Atteridge (), which connect the politics of coal subsidies with the broader political context for coal extraction in South Africa and Colombia, respectively, and Baer () which shows how longstanding and bipartisan political support for the Australian coal industry is. Finally, Lahiri‐Dutt () shows that in India, coal is both deeply linked to the nation's sense of itself and caught up in the capitalist state agenda, but also underpins at least four different economies and myriad livelihoods, each of which “is governed by different sets of norms and values” (Lahiri‐Dutt, , p. 210).…”

Section: Appraising the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Coal and climate change

Edwards

2019

WIREs Climate Change

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This overview adopts a critical social science perspective to examine the state of play and potential futures for coal in the context of climate change. It introduces key trends in coal consumption, production and trade, before reviewing the relevant literature. Finding surprisingly little literature directly focused on coal and climate change, it appraises existing work and highlights key areas for future research. In addition to established literatures on the situated politics of coal and the political economy of coal, new work calling for demand side policies to be supplemented with supply side policies highlights the increasing importance of normative contestations in driving debates over coal. This suggests that scholars must engage much more directly with climate change as an issue, and particularly with the place of coal in a just transition. Because of coal's mammoth contribution to climate change and the complex political economy which drives its production and consumption, it is likely that coal will remain at the center of difficult questions about the relationship between climate action and development for quite some time. This article is categorized under: Climate and Development > Decoupling Emissions from Development

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“…Colombia possesses considerable resources of hard coal, mostly in the northern regions of La Guajira and Cesar, where 90% of the Colombian coal is extracted [29] (p. 7). These are remote regions characterized by ethnic diversity and high levels of poverty.…”

Section: Overview Of the Colombian Coal Sector And Its Imminent Energy Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breaking the Dichotomies: Climate, Coal, and Gender. Paving the Way to a Just Transition. The Example of Colombia

Möhr

2021

Energies

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Despite recognizing that climate change and its impacts are not gender-neutral, only few studies address the arising complexities. While in some climate-relevant sectors, such as the transport sector, there already is some initial research on the relationship between climate and gender, research on the climate–gender nexus in the coal sector is still underdeveloped, and the few existing studies focus on dichotomous relations (gender–coal and coal–climate). This article discusses the currently neglected climate, coal, and gender triad and develops a conceptualization along the following aspects: (i) common lines of arguments, (ii) shortcomings in predominant arguments, and (iii) the state-of-the-art regarding the climate–gender–coal triad. To illustrate this outline, it uses the empirical case of the Colombian coal sector. Based on original data obtained via semi-structured interviews, it analyzes how imminent national-level climate policies for the coal sector, i.e., an energy transition, can be made gender-responsive and thus contribute to a just transition. The empirical example shows that women are already important change agents at the local level and in informal decision-making spaces. Although more research is needed to obtain further insights and evidence, this article contributes to the findings of more recent research which allow for the assumption that addressing climate and gender simultaneously may be mutually beneficial for both policy objectives.

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The Politics of Subsidies to Coal Extraction in Colombia

Cited by 13 publications

References 14 publications

Prospects for steam coal exporters in the era of climate policies: a case study of Colombia

Prospects for steam coal exporters in the era of climate policies: a case study of Colombia

Coal and climate change

Breaking the Dichotomies: Climate, Coal, and Gender. Paving the Way to a Just Transition. The Example of Colombia

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