Mozambique coal exits could do more harm than good

Vale has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050—but selling its coal assets to a smaller operator could end up adding to environmental damage

Brazilian miner Vale announced in January it would sell its loss-making Moatize coal mine and associated export rail infrastructure in Mozambique as part of a push to be carbon neutral by 2050. The decision is significant. “Coal companies getting out of coal, particularly metallurgical coal, which could, in some cases, still be economic, sends a strong political and economic message that this is the end of coal,” says Jesse Burton, a researcher at the Energy Systems Research Group at the University of Cape Town and at climate thinktank E3G. “Where does the impetus come from for responsible closure, when all these [listed] companies have gone?” Burton, E3G However, the move poses risk