PITTSBURGH, Nov. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — A new public awareness campaign titled Not So Fast™ has launched to address misconceptions regarding coal’s future role in the U.S. and global energy and infrastructure portfolios, and to educate people about the significant roles coal still plays in their daily lives.
Sponsored by CONSOL Energy, the campaign aims to inform the public, corporate leadership, and U.S. policymakers about the economic and societal repercussions of rapidly transitioning away from fossil fuels such as coal to intermittent sources like wind and solar power. These potential drawbacks highlight the many challenges of a renewable energy future and underscore the need for a gradual, realistic shift over the coming decades. The campaign advocates for a more measured, analytical, and moral approach to our nation’s energy policies—and the inextricably linked issues of grid reliability and security, economic growth, social issues, and aspirational environmental goals. It also points to the potential negative consequences of trying to move too quickly to a world without coal.
Despite some statements from politicians and environmentalists, coal remains pivotal both in the United States and internationally due to its significance in U.S. national security and role in energy independence, its positive impacts on human rights and mitigating global poverty, and its necessity in developing a renewable energy infrastructure.
Another reason that coal will not go away is its role beyond power generation. Coal is an integral component in manufacturing steel, concrete, fertilizers, water filtration, electronics, and many other items, and it is being developed as a feedstock for new applications like aerospace materials, building products, and batteries to meet society’s future needs.
CONSOL Energy CEO Jimmy Brock said, “The rhetoric has been increasing for years that coal is bad and has no place in the world as it transitions to cleaner, more sustainable energy. But that narrative fails to recognize that coal is a necessary element in achieving a cleaner energy infrastructure for the future. Plus, huge steps have been taken in reducing the environmental impacts of coal across the entire value chain, from the mine to the power plant, and we’re still working diligently to do even more on this front. Lastly, in addition to energy, coal touches all our lives as a key raw material that is used in the manufacturing of thousands of materials and products that we rely on and use every day.”
For more information about the campaign, please visit theCOALhardtruth.com. Additionally, a Media Kit is available for download.
SOURCE CONSOL Energy
