Old coal mining equipment next to solar panels at the PowerWorks Energy Education Centre in Morwell, Australia, on Dec. 1.
Photographer: James Bugg/BloombergThere’s a Way to Quit Coal Without Wrecking Jobs and Communities
Avoiding a chaotic energy transition requires cooperation from fossil fuel interests and compromise from climate activists.
It’s a persistent global conundrum: Can policymakers close coal mines and power plants without ruining local economies in the process?
In August, a delegation of Vietnamese officials looking to answer that question took the two-hour drive east from Melbourne into the Latrobe Valley. Bundled against the Australian winter, they sped past the cooling towers of the Yallourn power station and the open-cut mines near Morwell, vestiges of the region’s rapidly dying industry. The 18 members of parliament visited a new battery facility built on the site of a now-defunct coal-fired power station, and met with local leaders to discuss their approach.