About 4 Lakh Mining Jobs At Risk By 2035 As Coal Production Declines
The global shift away from coal as an energy source will result in a staggering equivalent of 100 job cuts daily through 2035, with China and India bearing the brunt of these losses, revealed a study released by Global Energy Monitor.
The report estimated that the effects of this shift will result in the loss of almost 400,000 jobs in the coal mining industry globally by 2035, or 15 per cent of all jobs.
Additionally, projections suggested that by 2050, this number would rise to around 1 million job losses as more and more people adopt more affordable energy sources like solar and wind power generation.
"Coal mine closures are inevitable, but economic hardship and social strife for workers is not. Viable transition planning is happening, like in Spain where the country regularly reviews the ongoing impacts of decarbonisation. Governments should draw inspiration from its success in planning their own just energy transition strategies," said Dorothy Mei, Project Manager for the Global Coal Mine Tracker, Global Energy Monitor.
The report underscores that the substantial job losses point to the considerable socioeconomic challenges governments and businesses need to address in their efforts to steer the world away from fossil fuels and alleviate the severe consequences of climate change.
Several factors, such as automation, enhanced operational efficiency, and the cyclical fluctuations in commodities markets, have played a role in the decline of employment in the mining sector. These developments have triggered contentious political debates in the US, Europe, Australia, and various other nations.
Prioritising former miners for job opportunities arising from mine closures is one potential option, as indicated by the report, to lessen the negative consequences of job layoffs in the coal industry. This could include things like environmental mitigation and land rehabilitation once mining operations end.
On this, Ryan Driskell Tate, Coal Program Director, Global Energy Monitor commented, "We need to put workers first on the agenda if we want to make sure the just transition isn’t just talk. With technologies and markets primed for an energy transition, we have to be proactive about the unique concerns of coal miners and their communities."
Notably, this change is expected to have a major impact on China, which produces and consumes more than half of the world's coal.
Approximately 1.5 million mining jobs are supported by the country presently, by 2050, it is predicted that Shanxi Province will lose more than 240,000 of these jobs. In an effort to lessen the social effects of upcoming mine closures, the Chinese government has been actively promoting businesses to replace underground miners with automated machinery.
Furthermore, it is anticipated that the company most affected by these layoffs will be Coal India, a state-owned mining firm that leads the world in coal production.
According to the estimate, by 2050, the corporation might have to lay off over 74,000 workers. According to business papers, the corporation's personnel decreased from 310,000 in 2017 to 240,000 this year, indicating that this trend is already apparent.
Showing her apprehension on the above situation, Tiffany Means, Researcher, Global Energy Monitor stated, "The coal industry has a long list of mines that will close in the near term–many of them state-owned enterprises with a government stake. Governments need to shoulder their share of the burden to ensure a managed transition for those workers and communities as we move into a clean energy economy."
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