Wyo. Stands Up For Coal With Threat To Sue States That Refuse To Buy It

"Republican governor says measure sends message that Wyoming is ‘prepared to bring litigation to protect her interests’"

"Wyoming is faced by a transition to renewable energy that’s gathering pace across America, but it has now come up with a novel and controversial plan to protect its mining industry – sue other states that refuse to take its coal.

A new state law has created a $1.2m fund to be used by Wyoming’s governor to take legal action against other states that opt to power themselves with clean energy such as solar and wind, in order to meet targets to tackle the climate crisis, rather than burn Wyoming’s coal.

Wyoming is America’s largest coal-producing state, digging up nearly 40% of the coal produced nationally each year. The state is heavily dependent upon revenues from mining to run basic services and as it produces 14 times more energy than it consumes, selling coal to other states is a vital source of income."

Oliver Milman reports for the Guardian May 7, 2021.

Source: Guardian, 05/10/2021