Officials from the Group of Seven wealthy nations, which includes the United States, have announced plans to largely end greenhouse gas emissions from their power sectors by 2035, making it highly unlikely that those countries will burn coal for electricity beyond that date.
"There are communities and states built around coal," notes H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D. of The Heartland Institute. "Don't go to West Virginia and Wyoming and try to convince them that coal is not good for people in the sense that it does not create good jobs and it doesn't support towns."
The Biden administration has pushed for people in coal mining to be trained in other professions. At least one union, the United Mine Workers of America, has announced support for such a move. Still, Burnett believes the biggest winner in the whole arrangement is China.
"Once again, everything Biden is doing is playing right into China's plans for economic dominance and increased geopolitical power," Burnett concludes.
