A Victory for the Climate
and Clean Energy

Dear Guardian,

147 million tons of coal are staying in the ground thanks to our dogged advocacy and your steadfast support.

Today, the Interior Department canceled a planned coal lease sale in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming because the company seeking the lease refused to submit a bid. 

The Powder River Basin is the largest coal-producing region in the nation, fueling more than 200 power plants in the U.S. and increasingly fueling power plants abroad. Nearly a billion tons of carbon pollution every year can be traced back to the Powder River Basin.  

Cloud Peak Energy, the third largest coal company in the U.S. and the largest exporter of Powder River coal, was seeking this latest lease to expand its Cordero Rojo strip mine. At the end of the day, the 143 million ton coal lease threatened to saddle us with more than 250 million tons of carbon. That’s as much global warming pollution as 50 million cars release every year.

Last February, we filed suit to rein in coal mining at Cordero Rojo. And in the past month, we’ve been rallying for the lease sale to be canceled. Incredibly, thousands of you responded to our alert on Monday calling on the Interior Department to abandon its plans. 

This morning, we met with success. 

In a stunning revelation, Cloud Peak Energy announced it would not bid on its own coal lease because it was not economic. The reality is, as companies are finally being forced to take into account the true cost of coal in their mining plans, they're finding it's just not worth it anymore.

This is a major breakthrough and a victory to celebrate. Because at the end of the day, every ton of coal kept in the ground holds new promise for a safe climate and a healthy future.

With your support, our pressure is helping to power us past coal toward clean energy. Let's keep it up.

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