Almost one million coal miners expected to lose jobs by 2050

The Global Energy Monitor (GEM) underlines the need for government involvement in planning for coal worker transitions.

GEM’s Global Coal Mine Tracker records a coal operation’s reported ‘life of mine’ - taking into account existing leases, permits, available reserves and other economic considerations.

They have found that most mines expected to close in the coming decades have no planning underway to extend the life of those operations or to manage a transition into a post-coal economy. It is estimating that 100 coal miners a day face job cuts.

Tiffany Means, Researcher at GEM, says, '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.'

The tracker says the coal industry is expected to shed nearly half a million jobs in the mining sector by 2035, and double that by 2050, potentially laying off over 37% of the existing workforce. This prediction does not consider climate pledges and phase-out coal policies.

The majority of workers are in Asia, with China and India likely to have the greatest job losses. China has more than 1.5 million coal miners who produce over 85% of its coal, accounting for half of the world’s output. Coal India is the producer facing the largest potential jobs cuts of 73,800 by mid-century.

Ryan Driskell Tate, Coal Programme Director for the Global Coal Mine Tracker, adds, 'With technologies and markets primed for an energy transition, we have to be proactive about the unique concerns of coal miners and their communities.'