350.org Reacts to Reports of Coal Leasing Overhaul: “Another Nail in the Coffin”

President Obama’s Administration is expected to announce new rules for how the federal government manages and leases coal reserves on public lands. The move will add significant momentum to the growing campaign by climate activists to stop new fossil fuel extraction on public lands and calls to “keep it in the ground.”
“The only safe place for coal in the 21st century is deep underground–these reforms will help keep more of it there,” said 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben.  “And they’ll set the precedent that must quickly be applied to oil and gas as well.”
Early reports suggest that the new regulations may include a moratorium on new coal leases, or an increase in royalties paid by coal mining companies to the federal government. ….