Colombian courts have recognised the environmental and human rights abuses associated with Cerrejón in several rulings. Despite this, Glencore – which bought out the mine’s previous co-owners in 2022 – intends to extract coal from the site until at least 2034.
Glencore told TBIJ: “We aim to avoid harm to people from our activities, respect human rights, [and] contribute to the social and economic development of people and society more widely,” adding that it follows best business practices in line with international standards. The company said its activities do not negatively affect the Ranchería river’s water quality or volumes, which it says it tests and finds to be within regulatory limits for domestic consumption, and that the flow rate increases as it passes through the mine.
It said it used minimal amounts of water from the river compared to industries such as agriculture, which consumes the overwhelming majority, and that it voluntarily delivers water to numerous communities throughout the year at no cost to them.
Two years ago at the Cop climate talks, all countries agreed it was essential to accelerate the transition from coal power to renewables in order to avert catastrophic climate change. HSBC itself highlights “the importance of coal transition to the achievement of global climate ambitions” in its coal phase-out policy.
The bank, however, helped raise nearly $17bn for coal companies in 2023. Other deals that appear to have breached its pledge not to fund thermal coal expansion were with POSCO and Sumitomo, which were both building new coal-fired power stations in 2023, according to the Global Coal Exit List (GCEL) compiled by campaign group Urgewald.