" Unfinished Business: India’s Coal Mine Closure Crisis Threatens Just Transition", 20 March 2025

Sixteen years after the state-run Coal India Limited (CIL) first issued detailed mine-closure guidelines, only three coal mines in India have been formally closed. In fact, out of a list of 299 non-operational mines identified for closure by CIL in January 2024, only eight had applied for formal closure by August last year,

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Over 21 million Indians depend on the fossil fuel economy for their livelihood. Experts suggest that as India accelerates its climate action, its focus should be on just transition, including economic restructuring, workforce reskilling, land repurposing, revenue substitution and responsible social practices

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The just transition framework in the coal sector is meant to ensure that mined land is scientifically reclaimed before being repurposed for sustainable activities or returned to local communities. Land reclamation involves following a comprehensive plan to restore the solid structure and revegetation by agriculture or forestry to improve the physical condition of the mined land. Since this involves considerable expense, companies have been prone to merely abandoning depleted mines

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Just transition requires empowerment of communities that have been historically ignored--small, worker-owned energy cooperatives must be given a push rather than large-scale solar projects overseen by private or government corporations.