Investors Pushed Mining Giants to Quit Coal. Now It’s Backfiring

There’s growing unease that the divestment campaign could lead to more coal being produced for longer.

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
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It was supposed to be a big win for climate activists: another of the world’s most powerful mining companies had caved to investor demands that it stop digging up coal.

Instead, Anglo American Plc’s exit from coal has become a case study for unintended consequences, transforming mines that were scheduled for eventual closure into the engine room for a growth-hungry coal business.