Identifying Norway’s Coal Company Divestment Targets
The University of Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment has identified the coal companies that breach Norway’s recently announced 30% divestment threshold.
Norway was criticized by many for not actually divesting from coal companies, despite its 2014 promise. However, within days of such criticism, the Norwegian Parliament announced its intention to divest from companies that generate more than 30% of their income or their electricity from coal.
Using its own data with carbon metrics data from the index and research provider, MSCI, the University of Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment created a list of those companies that will be impacted by Norway’s newest legislation. Together, the Smith School and MSCI have identified all companies globally that exceed this 30% figure, releasing first the Top 20 listed coal miners and Top 20 listed utilities.
“The Norwegian vote is a hugely significant development and moves the divestment debate from upstream mining to power generation,” said Ben Caldecott, Director of the Stranded Assets Programme at the Smith School. “The new 30% threshold for divesting from utilities may become a standard that other large investors decide to follow.”
Top 20 Miners: Largest listed thermal coal mining companies that breach 30% revenue threshold
| Company | Total 2014 Revenue from Thermal Coal (USD million) | % Revenue from Thermal Coal |
|---|---|---|
| China Shenhua Energy Company Limited | 14,006 | 35% |
| Sasol Limited[1] | 11,050 | 58% |
| Coal India Limited | 10,251 | 89% |
| China Coal Energy Company Limited | 5,966 | 52% |
| Adani Enterprises Limited | 5,068 | 55% |
| Peabody Energy Corporation | 4,890 | 72% |
| Inner Mongolia Yitai Coal Co., Ltd. | 3,397 | 85% |
| Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Limited | 3,045 | 31% |
| Pt Adaro Energy Tbk | 2,909 | 91% |
| Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. | 2,837 | 66% |
| Pt United Tractors Tbk | 2,826 | 66% |
| Banpu Public Company Limited | 2,638 | 85% |
| Arch Coal, Inc. | 2,350 | 80% |
| Yang Quan Coal Industry (Group) Co., Ltd. | 2,337 | 70% |
| Shanxi Lu’an Environmental Energy Development Co., Ltd. | 2,324 | 90% |
| Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. | 2,301 | 100% |
| The Tata Power Company Limited | 1,861 | 31% |
| Indo Tambangraya Megah Tbk Pt | 1,741 | 94% |
| CONSOL Energy Inc.[2] | 1,600 | 46% |
| Datong Coal Industry Co., Ltd. | 1,356 | 97% |
[1] Sasol is a coal-to-liquids producer (converts coal to petrochemicals). Although revenue from direct sale of coal is estimated to be low, approximately 58% of its business is derived from coal.
[2] CONSOL Energy sold a significant share of its coal assets in late 2013 and is increasing its focus on natural gas, as such its coal revenue is decreasing, possibly representing less than the 46% stated above; but is expected to stay above 30% through at least 2016.
Top 20 Power Companies: Largest listed utilities that breach 30% generation threshold
| Company name | Country of Origin | Coal generation as percentage of total generation | Carbon intensity of coal fleet kg CO2/MWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| China Huaneng Group Corp | China | 64.2% | 1,024 |
| China Datang Corp | China | 78.8% | 1,004 |
| China Guodian Corp | China | 71.9% | 1,021 |
| China Huadian Group Corp | China | 67.6% | 1,009 |
| Shenhua Group Corp Ltd | China | 95.5% | 1,024 |
| Ntpc Ltd | India | 93.9% | 992 |
| Eskom Holdings Soc Ltd | South Africa | 81.4% | 1,005 |
| Korea Electric Power Corp | Korea | 39.1% | 973 |
| Duke Energy Corp | USA | 45.2% | 906 |
| China Resources Power Holdings | China | 76.2% | 1,050 |
| Southern Co | USA | 56.6% | 939 |
| American Electric Power Co Inc | USA | 78.6% | 951 |
| Nrg Energy Inc | USA | 53.4% | 953 |
| Rwe Ag | Germany | 56.4% | 981 |
| Ppl Corp | USA | 67.1% | 1,022 |
| Firstenergy Corp | USA | 74.9% | 888 |
| Aes Corp | USA | 48.6% | 956 |
| Xcel Energy Inc | USA | 54.3% | 1,017 |
| -Power | Japan | 48.4% | 862 |
| Cez As | Czech Republic | 40.7% | 1,213 |
[1] Sasol is a coal-to-liquids producer (converts coal to petrochemicals). Although revenue from direct sale of coal is estimated to be low, approximately 58% of its business is derived from coal.
[2] CONSOL Energy sold a significant share of its coal assets in late 2013 and is increasing its focus on natural gas, as such its coal revenue is decreasing, possibly representing less than the 46% stated above; but is expected to stay above 30% through at least 2016.
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