"Coal Crash: How Pension Funds Face Huge Risk From Climate Change"

"The pension funds of millions of people across the world, including teachers, public sector workers, health staff and academics in the UK and US, are heavily exposed to the plummeting coal sector, a Guardian analysis has revealed.

It has also found that just a dozen people, including the owner of Chelsea FC, Roman Abramovich, own coal reserves equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of China, the world’s biggest polluter. The UN, which advocates a shift to clean energy, has more than $100m (£65m) invested in coal through its own pension fund.

The Guardian examined the ownership of the biggest 50 publicly traded coal companies, ranked by the reserves of the fossil fuel they hold. If burned, these reserves would produce the equivalent of more than 10 years of global emissions. This alone could push the planet past beyond the 2C of climate change deemed dangerous by the world’s governments."

Damian Carrington and Caelainn Barr report for the Guardian June 15, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"Global Coal Demand Is Slowing Fast" (Business Insider)

"Have Three Of The World’s Biggest Coal Exporters Just Blown $1.3 Billion On A Stranded Asset?" (Breaking Energy)