Greece’s largest lignite plant, the 1.6-GW Agios Dimitrios station in Western Macedonia, ceased operations on 15 May 2026, leaving the country with just one coal facility—Ptolemaida 5 (660 MW), expected to close by the end of the year. The decision to phase out coal, announced in 2019 by Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, was largely driven by the European Union’s Emissions Trading System: in 2025 alone, Agios Dimitrios incurred around EUR 200 million in carbon costs.

Despite pledges to peak emissions and phase out coal, the early retirement of coal operations in Indonesia is still largely theoretical due to rigid power purchase agreements and over-reliance on commercial debt. Two researchers propose a concessional financing facility with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to retire a first tranche of 500 MW—not as a grand gesture, but as a proof of concept that could establish a replicable template and signal to markets that coal retirement is bankable.

Korea East-West Power held a meeting of its Just Energy Transition Task Force in May 2026, with CEO Kwon Myung-ho outlining three principles for a just coal transition: a stable shift to carbon-free energy, protection of employees’ jobs, and partnership with local communities. The company is preparing its own implementation plan ahead of the expected passage of South Korea’s Special Act on Coal Transition and the upcoming 12th Basic Plan for Long-Term Electricity Supply and Demand.

Kazakhstan launched QaJET, a just energy transition investment platform, at the Regional Ecological Summit in Astana in April 2026. Backed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the platform aims to mobilise USD 20 billion to add 10 GW of renewable capacity by 2035, cutting over 20 Mt of emissions annually. It includes grid upgrades, battery storage, electrification, and just transition provisions for coal-dependent communities.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed rolling back the coal ash clean-up rules established in 2015, offering site-specific permits instead of federal standards and introducing new uses for ash in construction materials. Environmental groups in Indiana—which has more coal ash sites than any other state—has warned that the changes would gut hard-won protections and return communities to the contamination risks that had plagued towns like Pines for decades.

A report by Greenpeace, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and GroundWork warns that South Africa’s decision to extend the operating dates of its 14 coal plants—two until 2050—could cause up to 32,000 preventable deaths between 2026 and 2050, along with 41,000 pre-term births and 17,000 new cases of childhood asthma. The economic cost is estimated at ZAR 721 billion rand (USD 38 billion). Gauteng Province, which has no coal plants of its own, is projected to bear the largest burden due to transboundary pollution from Mpumalanga.

The UK’s development finance institution British International Investment has launched British Climate Partners (BCP), a GBP 1.1 billion initiative to mobilise private capital for clean energy in India and South-East Asia. The fund targets countries that are heavily dependent on coal, such as Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, and uses blended finance to de-risk projects and attract commercial investors. Ensuring a just transition for coal workers and communities is flagged as a key challenge requiring dedicated financing beyond standard project finance.

A new study published in Rural Sociology has found that the decline of coal mining had mixed effects on health in Appalachian communities in the United States: as production fell, life expectancy rose—but as jobs disappeared, it fell again. The findings underscore the importance of a just transition, given that employment loss drives economic distress, which is linked to higher mortality rates. The average life expectancy in coal-producing U.S. counties is already 1.6 years lower than in non-coal counties.

Up to 1,500 mining workers in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, are facing layoffs following production quota restrictions introduced in the 2026 mining work and budget plans. Two major companies have already begun gradual redundancy processes, which will affect 300 workers during the initial phase. The provincial Labour and Transmigration Agency is facilitating dialogue between companies and unions to seek alternatives, while also ensuring that workers who are affected can access the national job loss insurance programme.

Colombia’s government is pressing energy giant Glencore to begin planning the progressive closure of Cerrejón ahead of its 2034 concession expiry, warning that delayed planning risks severe economic and social consequences for La Guajira—one of Colombia’s most vulnerable regions. The mine produces 16.8 Mt of coal a year, generates over 12,000 direct jobs, and contributes around USD 166 million in royalties. A report by the Chilean mining consultancy GEM recommended a “managed transition pact” between government, Glencore, and communities, including retraining, supplier conversion, and infrastructure repurposing.

Despite calls to slow Germany’s coal phase-out following the energy price shock triggered by the Iran war, a researcher at the Öko-Institut says the exit is on track to happen through market forces well before the legal deadline of 2038—with 2031 or 2032 appearing realistic. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that the phase-out plans have “become unrealistic,” but the researcher argues the law’s built-in flexibility mechanisms are designed precisely to handle energy crises without derailing the broader schedule.

Leaked documents have revealed that Saskatchewan’s provincially owned utility SaskPower has been directed to refurbish its ageing coal plants and run them for up to 25 more years, suspending all commitments to renewable energy procurement and emissions reduction. The plan carries a CAD 26 billion price tag and is projected to nearly double electricity rates by 2040. Critics argue that wind and solar could deliver the same energy for around half the cost—and warn that coal workers and communities deserve a real just transition, not decades more of coal dependency.

Western Australia’s coal town of Collie is facing the loss of up to 100 jobs after Premier Coal cut staff citing falling demand, even as the state government continues to subsidise the other local miner, Griffin Coal, to keep operating. Calls are growing to merge the two remaining miners into a single entity to manage the wind-down in a more orderly way. With Western Australia’s 2030 coal phase-out deadline approaching, the union has pushed for a merger for years, while the government acknowledges that it would be complex.

Global Energy Monitor’s Boom and Bust 2026 report has found that global coal power capacity grew by 3.5% in 2025, while actual coal generation fell by 0.6%—a paradox driven by the rapid expansion of renewables in China and India. Coal development is increasingly concentrated: 95% of new construction is now in those two countries, while the number of countries actively building coal plants has dropped from 75 (in 2014) to 32. Meanwhile, nearly 70% of coal plants scheduled for retirement in 2025 are still operational.

A YouGov survey of 4,000 people across Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia has found that there is strong public support for a rapid coal phase-out, with over 80% of respondents in all three countries concerned about climate change and the majority agreeing that ending coal is one of the most effective ways to address that concern. Notably, the highest level of support was recorded in Indonesia—one of the region’s largest coal producers. The majority in all three countries also believe that the banks that finance coal are worsening climate change, with a significant proportion saying they would consider switching banks over the issue.

South Korea is moving to formally designate some coal plants as “security power sources” following the Iran war and its impact on fossil fuel prices and supply. A revised proposal presented to the National Assembly would allow the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment to keep coal plants operational beyond their planned closure dates if grid stability requires it. The legislation is being developed alongside a Special Act aimed at supporting regions and workers affected by coal plant closures—with 28 plants scheduled to shut by 2036 under the country’s existing plan.

Community groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Chile’s northern coal towns of Tocopilla and Mejillones are raising the alarm that coal plant closures are proceeding without companies fulfilling their environmental remediation obligations, and without meaningful citizen participation. In Mejillones, three Engie plants closed in December 2025 without fully complying with their environmental permits, while in Tocopilla, neither Engie nor Applied Energy Services (AES) Andes submitted closure plans or carried out site remediation. The groups also denounced the Kast government’s withdrawal of two key decrees that had underpinned the just transition governance framework for affected communities.

The Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, the GBP 120 billion UK local government pension scheme pool, has published what it describes as an industry-first “just transition overlay”—a framework integrating the social risks and opportunities of the low-carbon transition into its investment governance, capital allocation, engagement, voting and reporting. The overlay implements new guidance from the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change and covers all asset classes. Border to Coast also released findings from a 3-year engagement with four UK banks on just transition, noting meaningful improvements but no sector leader yet.

Vietnam’s prime minister has approved an updated plan for implementing the Just Energy Transition Partnership political declaration, organised around 10 priority task groups. These cover policy reform; coal plant phase-out and fuel switching; renewable energy expansion; grid upgrades; industrial decarbonisation; and green transport. Notably, one of the 10 groups explicitly addresses just transition: ensuring equitable access to resources and support for vulnerable workers and households affected by the energy transition, including retraining programmes.

Aberdeen’s oil and gas workforce has shrunk by 70,000 over the past decade, while only 39,000 renewables jobs have been created—leaving thousands of workers stranded between a declining industry and one that is not yet ready to absorb them. Researchers warn that 600–800 oil and gas jobs will be lost every month for the next decade. The Grangemouth refinery closure—affecting 400 direct jobs plus 2,800 in the supply chain—is cited as a cautionary example of what an unjust transition looks like in practice.

India’s just transition debate is almost entirely focused on coal, but researchers from the Chintan Research Foundation argue that it needs to extend to renewables. At 280 GW and growing towards a 500 GW target by 2030, large-scale solar projects are generating land conflicts, community displacement, and water stress. Unlike coal, renewables projects carry few enforceable obligations to restore land. The authors propose revenue-sharing models, agrivoltaics co-ownership, and decommissioning levies to ensure that clean energy expansion doesn’t replicate extractive inequalities.