Leading candidate for South Korea’s Presidency pledges to cut coal: The leading candidate to become South Korea’s next President, Moon Jae-In, says “we should reduce consumption of fossil fuels, coal in particular”. He specifically flagged the problem of fine particle pollution from coal plants. Moon has proposed the development of renewables and switching to plants fueled by gas imported from Russia. The election may be held in mid-2017 depending on whether the constitutional court upholds parliament’s impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye. (Platts)

Court orders halt to Colombian river diversion plan: A Colombian court recently ordered a halt to work on the diversion of the Arroyo River by the Cerrejon Coal Company, a joint venture of BHP Billiton, Glencore and Anglo American. The Court has required the company to negotiate with the local Wayuu indigenous communities before moving forward with the project. Local residents have challenged the permits for the diversion on the grounds that two towns and four communities would be at risk of losing their water supply. In a bid to overcome the indigenous Wayuu community’s opposition to the river’s diversion, the Colombian Government and the company are seeking to negotiate to provide a package of community development projects. (Bloomberg, La Guajira Hoy.com [in Spanish])

Trump’s energy policy backs “clean coal”; analysts have doubts: The Trump Administration’s energy policy, released shortly after his inauguration, vowed to repeal the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan and the Stream Protection Rule. It also states it is “committed to clean coal technology, and to reviving America’s coal industry” though most analysts believe the shift away from coal is a permanent structural shift in the power generation market. (Climate Central)

US lab manager jailed for faking water tests: A federal judge has sentenced a former manager of Appalachian Laboratories, John Brewer, to two years in prison after he pleaded guilty to faking test results submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection on water pollution samples for West Virginia’s coal industry. The judge said Brewer and most of the more than 30 people working at the lab had been involved in the falsification of results. However, neither Appalachian Labs nor its owners have been charged with any offenses and continue to operate. (Charleston Gazette Mail)

Global coal lobby group forms pact with UN agency: The World Coal Association, the coal industry’s peak lobby group, has entered into a formal agreement with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) to “increase the awareness of the role of coal in the global energy mix and in providing access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.” UNECE has 56 member states across Europe, Western Asia and also includes the US and Canada. (World Coal Association)

Thai activists challenge secrecy over new coal plant: The Network of Songkhla-Pattani Peoples against the Coal-Fired Power Plant has expressed alarm that the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has secretly completed bidding for a proposed 2,000-megawatt (MW) coal plant in Songkhla's Thepha district. In a letter to a local school principal, EGAT stated that under the interim charter adopted by the Thai military regime it was permissible to commence project bidding procedures before the completion of an environmental impact assessment study. Activists are considering lodging a legal challenge in the Administrative Court. (Bangkok Post)

Australia: Federal Government approves expansion of Acland mine; state hurdles remain.

Myanmar: New report from residents documents health impacts from Tigyit coal plant.

Pakistan: Protests continue against proposed dispossession of villagers for mine waste water dam.

Netherlands: Government defers decision on possible closure of five coal plants until after March election.

US: CEO of coal company Alliance Resource Partners and US$750,000 donor to anti-Clinton group allocated a seat at Trump’s inauguration.

US: Office of Surface Mining orders review of validity of permits for Usibelli coal mine in Alaska.

Chinese coal production plummets: The Chinese government’s mandated limits on the number of days coal mines can operate in 2016 had the effect of slashing domestic coal production by nine per cent, according to the official data. The domestic production restrictions – which have since been eased – spurred higher import demand and prices. Overall Chinese coal use in 2016 declined by an estimated 1.6 per cent, with a further decline expected in 2017. (Bloomberg)

Indian government approves more coal plants: Despite the Central Electricity Authority flagging the lack of need for new coal plants in the next five years, a committee of the Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change approved 15 of 18 new coal plants considered at its first meeting in late December. The day before another committee approved seven of the 10 coal mines under consideration. The EIA Resource & Response Centre has warned the ministry’s decisions are likely to make the existing coal glut worse. (Economic Times)

Engie hikes cost of Australian mine closure liability: Engie has dramatically revised the rehabilitation cost of Hazelwood mine and power station up to US$561 million. Engie had previously estimated the cost of rehabilitating the mine alone – which is scheduled to close in March – at US$55 million but now considers it will cost US$332 million. “It is very likely that other mines and power stations are grossly underestimating their clean-up costs,” said Environment Victoria campaigns manager, Dr Nicholas Aberle. (The Age)

CCS costs blowout led to UK canceling subsidy, says Audit Office: A National Audit Office (NAO) review of the UK Government’s Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) program revealed the scheme could have cost taxpayers US$11 billion over 15 years, up from the initial Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) estimate of US$4.8 billion. The NAO found DECC had begun a second round of the CCS program without agreeing with Treasury what the lifetime costs of the shortlisted projects could be. Treasury withdrew funding for the scheme, which forced DECC to cancel the program in January 2016. (Bloomberg)

Carbon Capture and Storage: The second competition for government support, National Audit Office, January 2017. (Pdf)

This 50-page report reviews the second competition the UK Government ran for large-scale CCS projects and the factors which led to its ultimate failure.

“The shift to ‘base-cost’ renewables: 10 predictions for 2017,” Bloomberg New Energy Finance, January 2017.

This is a thought-provoking article sketching 10 likely trends to help reshape the global energy markets this year.