Crypto News: Coal controversy

Mine developers are pitching to revive Canada’s declining output of coal, to meet rising demand from steelmakers in Asia. That’s struck a nerve in the country’s energy heartland of Alberta, where some downstream ranchers and communities worry about the potential environmental impacts.

Also today, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi, highlighted how the country’s renewable energy boom is helping it cut emissions and more than meet its global climate commitments. And finally, how haze from the wildfires in Indonesia is hindering firefighters’ efforts to contain the blazes.

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Coal controversy

By Iain Boekhoff, Michael McKee, and Arielle Schwartz

At the top of Grassy Mountain, some 6,700 feet above sea level, seams of coal are baked into the mountainside, visible through mining in this stretch of the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Alberta from the early to mid-1900s. This and other former mines dot the picturesque mountain towns on the eastern side of the continental divide, the industry having moved out of the region decades ago after plummeting prices and demand made mining here unprofitable.

But Grassy still has more coal to give — much more. It’s now the center of a yearslong battle pitting nearby towns’ economic interests against environmental worries from downstream communities and ranchers. And this time, it’s being driven not by demand to heat homes in Canada, but to feed steelmakers in China, Japan, South Korea, India and other Asian countries.

Exposed coal seams near the top of Grassy Mountain, where mining took place in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. Photographer: Jennifer Gauthier/Bloomberg — Exposed coal seams near the top of Grassy Mountain, where mining took place in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta.

Nearly 60 years after this site closed, locals are once again pinning their hopes for an economic revival on this windswept mountainside. Northback Holdings Corp., a division of Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting Pty., is working to reopen the former mine.

This is Hancock’s second attempt after an earlier application was rejected by a joint federal and provincial review panel in 2021 over concerns about the impact on the nearby water ecosystem. Northback Chief Executive Officer Brad Johnston believes the company can address the deficiencies in its first application and go further in restoring the mountain, including much of the unreclaimed former mine site.

Hancock has spent more than a decade and over C$150 million ($105 million) on a project that faces stiff opposition and is still at least four years from opening. It’s promising to scale back its original plans by around 40% to produce 2.5 million metric tons a year instead of 4 million, boost reclamation efforts during the course of mining, build a water treatment plant and stick around for years after production ceases.

The company is persistent because its forecasts show an undersupply in the global market within the next decade and pricing levels far beyond what it costs to extract the coal.

The proposal and others like it have struck a nerve in Alberta, a region traditionally friendly toward resource development, both in terms of public support and government policy. Country music star Corb Lund led a petition campaign this year to stop coal mining in the eastern slopes of the Rockies, attempting to force a provincial vote on the issue this month, unsuccessfully. A recent survey found a majority of the public would have supported his position in a referendum.

Country music singer Corb Lund has led a movement opposing new coal mining in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada. Photographer: Jennifer Gauthier/Bloomberg&nbsp; — Country music singer Corb Lund has led a movement opposing new coal mining in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada.

The fight over the project also reveals a little-known fact about Canadian coal. Within the country, it has been on a long decline, as governments moved to reduce coal used for power production. But at the country’s western ports, coal is still king of commodity volumes. About 39.9 million metric tons were exported from Vancouver last year, compared to 30 million tons of petroleum products.

While the province of British Columbia now accounts for the majority of coal production, Alberta has seen a number of proposals in recent years and the province recently approved an expansion of the Vista Coal Mine in Hinton, near Jasper National Park, that will make it the largest thermal coal mine in North America.

About 70% of the world’s steel supply depends on metallurgical coal and Canada is the fifth-largest global supplier, accounting for roughly C$9 billion in exports.

Coal exports

39.9 million metric tons

The amount of coal exported from Vancouver last year.

Strident opposition

“There are some people that are opposed to what we do, no matter how well we do it, or whatever systems of controls we propose to put into place.”

Brad Johnston

CEO, Northback Holdings Corp.

The division of billionaire Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting Pty. is working to reopen the former mine.

Renewable boom

By Azman Usmani

India’s renewable energy capacity has quadrupled over the past decade to about 300 gigawatts, putting the country well ahead of its voluntary commitments under the Paris Agreement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

Programs including incentives for rooftop solar and sun-powered irrigation pumps have lowered consumer costs while helping reduce emissions, Modi said Tuesday at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi. The expansion helped India become the first Group of 20 nation to meet its voluntary Paris pledge of having 40% of installed power capacity from non-fossil sources, nine years ahead of the 2030 deadline.

Modi’s emphasis on meeting existing commitments and accelerating implementation sharpens India’s position ahead of next month’s COP31 summit in Antalya, Turkey. New Delhi is resisting a European Union push for deeper global emissions cuts, arguing that countries should first deliver on existing pledges. India’s environment ministry said last week that global negotiations should focus on closing implementation gaps and delivering long-promised climate finance from developed nations rather than setting new targets.

“This energy transition taking place in India is creating new opportunities,” Modi said, adding that the country is approaching the shift with a “different mindset” by prioritizing people and the planet at the same time.

Hindered by haze

By Chandra Asmara

Indonesia’s aerial firefighting efforts have been hampered for more than a week by poor visibility from the forest-fire haze, as the smoke continues to spread across Southeast Asia.

Dense smog has prevented water-bombing and cloud-seeding operations in Central Kalimantan on Borneo, forcing authorities to rely on ground crews, the country’s disaster management agency said during a cabinet meeting convened Monday by President Prabowo Subianto.

Prabowo said rainfall may be the only way to clear the smog and allow aerial operations to resume.

TOPSHOT - A firefighter sprays water to extinguish a raging wildfire in the Panarung area of Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan province, on October 8, 2026. Toxic haze has shrouded parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore for weeks as Jakarta struggles to contain fires that have scorched large tracts of Borneo and Sumatra, with the smoke drifting across the region. (Photo by REINA / AFP via Getty Images) — TOPSHOT - A firefighter sprays water to extinguish a raging wildfire in the Panarung area of Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan province, on October 8, 2026. (Photo by REINA / AFP via Getty Images)

“In the end, it really comes down to rain,” Prabowo said while referring to the haze in a video of the meeting posted on YouTube. He praised ongoing operations and called for more comprehensive prevention measures at the village level. Authorities expect rains from mid-October to help contain the fires.

Indonesia is battling its worst fire season in years. Prolonged dryness, exacerbated by a powerful El Niño, has created conditions for land-clearing fires to burn out of control and emit noxious fumes, fueling health and diplomatic concerns across the region.

Bloomberg Australia

Tasmania’s Electric Shipping Bet

Zero is on a break this week, so we’re bringing you an episode from the Bloomberg Australia podcast. A shipyard in Tasmania has delivered the world’s largest electric ship, a 130-metre ferry powered by more than 250 tons of batteries. Host Rebecca Jones talks to David Stringer, Asia Managing Editor for Bloomberg Green and ESG, who toured the vessel and met veteran shipbuilder Robert Clifford. They explore what Tasmania’s maritime innovation could mean for an industry under pressure to cut emissions.

Listen now, and subscribe on Apple, Spotify or YouTube to get new episodes of Zero every Thursday.

Photo finish

Stuart Woolf has planted about 550 acres of agave plants in Huron, . Photographer: Jennifer Emerling/Bloomberg — Stuart Woolf has planted about 550 acres of agave plants in Huron, .

Some California wine growers are replacing grapes with agave to cope with the state’s water restrictions and falling demand for wine. Despite the lower costs and water use, it’s a risky move. There’s very little local distilling capacity in California and knowledge about processing agave is still limited.

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