In order to protect the environment, the European bank for Reconstruction and Development announced that it has stopped financing of coal projects. Countries such as Mongolia, Poland, and Kazakhstan that generate over 70 percent of its energy from coal were separately considered.

However, the decision this time covers all countries and all types of related financing is being stopped. A few days before this decision by the EBRD, Italy’s largest insurance company “Generali” announced that they will no longer provide coverages to new coal power plant projects and coal mining businesses. Government management companies and Government investment funds are also making policy changes to decrease involvements in mining sector to protect the environment.

Moreover, one of the largest coal miners in the European union “Polska Grupa Gornicza” made plans to invest EUR 500 million in a plant that converts coal into methanol. The company is fully owned by the Poland government and mines 30 million tons of coal per year. The new plant will process 1.2 million tons of coal per year. Thus CO2 emissions are calculated to be lowered by 150 thousand tons.

Source: BloombergTv.mn