Real progress starts at the source.
Introduction: Climate Change Begins in the Coal Country
Climate change is now one of the defining challenges of our time, but for coalfield communities, its roots are deeply familiar. Long before climate policy entered the national spotlight, residents living near mines, coal preparation plants, waste sites, and power stations were already experiencing the floods, landslides, fires, health impacts, and ecosystem losses that mirror a warming world.
For Citizens Coal Council, climate work is not a new lane- it is a natural extension of the issues we have been confronting for decades:
- Unchecked coal extraction
- Regulatory failures
- Environmental degradation
- Public health harms
- Corporate externalization of costs onto vulnerable communities
Coal has driven both local harms and global climate disruption, and meaningful climate solutions must address both.
Why Climate Solutions Matter in Coal Country
Coal Is the Largest Single Source of Global CO₂
Burning coal is responsible for roughly a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and remains one of the most carbon-intensive energy sources on the planet. But the full climate impact of coal extends across its entire lifecycle- from mining to processing to waste disposal- each stage producing emissions and degrading climate-stabilizing ecosystems.
KEY STAT:
Coal plants produce around twice as much CO₂ per unit of electricity as natural gas.
Coal Mining Itself Worsens Climate Impacts
Climate change isn’t only about smokestacks. Coal mining releases methane, a greenhouse gas over 80 times more potent than CO₂ in the short term.
- Longwall mining collapses land and drains groundwater, reducing natural carbon sinks.
- Surface mining strips forests- one of our most effective climate buffers.
- Abandoned mines leak methane, contaminate waterways, and pose safety hazards exacerbated by extreme weather.
These realities connect coal mining directly to both climate causes and climate impacts.
Stopping climate change requires addressing the harms of coal mining, not just coal burning.
Climate Impacts Already Hitting Coalfield Communities
Coal-impacted communities face some of the worst climate-related stressors:
Flooding & Landslides
Deforested mountains, unstable mine lands, and broken hydrology amplify flood severity- even from moderate storms. Climate change intensifies this risk.
Heat Stress & Air Quality
Communities near power plants, coal storage piles, and waste sites experience compounded pollution on hotter days.
Water Loss & Drought
Longwall mining has already dried springs, streams, and water supplies in multiple states- problems worsening with climate variability.
Mine Fires & Subsidence
Higher temperatures increase the likelihood and severity of coal seam fires and subsidence, especially from abandoned mines.
These are not future threats, they are current realities.
Our Climate Solutions Approach
CCC’s climate solutions work is grounded in decades of expertise in oversight, community advocacy, and accountability. We focus on solutions that repair harm, reduce emissions, and protect the people who have borne the brunt of coal’s legacy.
1. Strengthening Oversight to Reduce Climate Pollution
Climate stability depends on rigorous oversight of coal mining and reclamation. CCC works to:
- Improve enforcement of SMCRA standards that protect water, land, and ecosystems.
- Close loopholes that allow mines to evade cleanup or exploit weak state enforcement.
- Push for methane monitoring and reduction at active and abandoned mine sites.
This is climate action at the regulatory level- where it matters most.
2. Advancing Truly Just Transition Policies
A sustainable climate future must include economic security for coal miners and their families. CCC advocates for:
- Funding to reclaim and repurpose abandoned mine lands
- Investments in rural public health, transportation, broadband, and clean water
- Workforce programs led by- not imposed upon- coalfield residents
- New economic paths that do not replicate extractive models
Climate justice must include economic justice for coalfield communities.
3. Supporting Community-Led Resilience and Adaptation
People in coal country know best what their communities need. CCC supports:
- Flood mitigation and watershed restoration
- Clean water protections
- Monitoring for mine instability and subsidence
- Early-warning systems for climate-intensified hazards
- Community science and data collection
Climate adaptation must prioritize those most disproportionately impacted.
4. Holding Coal Companies Accountable for Climate Harms
Many climate impacts in coal regions trace back to corporate negligence- not inevitability. CCC works to:
- Expose patterns of regulatory noncompliance
- Challenge political influence that shields industry from accountability
- Demand full reclamation and bonding reform
- Push back against greenwashing and false climate “solutions” promoted by the coal industry
No real climate progress can occur while coal companies continue business as usual.
The Path Forward: Climate Solutions Rooted in Justice
Our climate work is not about joining a trend.
It is about ensuring that the communities who powered this country are not left behind—or left in danger—as the world transitions away from coal.
Climate justice means:
✔ Protecting frontline communities
✔ Ensuring regulatory systems work as intended
✔ Restoring damaged lands and waterways
✔ Preventing new harms
✔ Building resilient local economies
✔ Centering the voices of coalfield residents
The climate movement cannot succeed without coalfield communities. And coalfield communities deserve a future beyond extraction.