Beyond Coal Campaign

Lead Groups: Sierra Club

Description of the Problem the Campaign is seeking to address: Coal plants are a leading cause of respiratory illness and account for over 30% of our nation's global warming pollution.  The Campaign is working to stop the construction of the more than 150 financially risky new coal plants that have been proposed and reduce our over-dependence on dirty, destructive coal.    

Brief Description of the Achievement(s) between May 1, 2008 and May 1, 2009: The Campaign helped stop 27 coal plants during this period, the global warming pollution equivalent of taking more than 15 million cars off the road. 

Description of how  this is an important step toward the Campaign's goals, and if applicable, how it shows innovation: By stopping and shutting down 27 coal plants and decreasing destructive mining, the Campaign reduced huge amounts of pollution.  We are opening up the market, and empowering energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy opportunities that decrease utility bills and create family-supporting jobs.  Our work in 2008 and 2009 included some of our biggest victories.  Dynegy -- the largest coal plant developer in the country with its partner LS Power - dropped out of new coal plants on January 2nd after a successful corporate campaign.  We won a battle to slow down new destructive mountaintop removal coal mining when the Obama administration announced greater scrutiny of permits in March.  And the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Appeals Board sent a shock to energy companies last year when they required that a proposed coal plant consider carbon dioxide limits in a case brought by the Sierra Club.