The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
CERREJÓN mine in north-eastern Colombia is a fifth of the size of Clare but supplies the majority (approximately 90%) of the coal for Moneypoint power station, Ireland’s largest energy generation station and greenhouse gas emitter. The coal sourced from this area is tainted by the abuses suffered by the local people who endure threats, intimidation, police brutality, forced displacement and human rights abuses. Their indigenous lands and homes have been destroyed to make way for this colossus of a mine that continues to expand and leaves a trail of human suffering in its wake. The Irish Government, through the ESB, has purchased 11.2 million tonnes of coal from Colombia in the last seven years, most of which is from Cerrejón and continues to do so, all while well-documented cases of wrongdoing by the mine are available from various NGOs. Under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the ESB and Ireland have a responsibility “for human rights impacts …
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