ESB faces action over link to controversial coal mine
:: Complaint to be filed over Colombian site
A FORMAL complaint will be lodged today by human rights lawyers and aid agencies against the ESB for its involvement in a controversial coal mine in Colombia.
The complaint will be filed with the OECD claiming breaches of international protocols for business practices.
It is one of a series being filed simultaneously in several countries against the Cerrejón mine’s owners, BHP, Anglo American and Glencore.
Also included is the Dublin-based firm that controls global distribution of Cerrejón’s coal, CMC Coal Marketing, which, up to a decline in sales in 2019, recorded over €2bn in revenues annually.
If successful, the action could lead to directions to sever ties with the mine, apologies, and pressure on the owners to compensate for environmental damage and human rights violations.
The ESB and CMC have often addressed criticisms of the mine, defending its operations and the oversights in place to ensure fair practices.
Those assurances are rejected by Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), which is supported in filing the complaints by Christian Aid Ireland and local and international human rights and environmental groups.
Cerrejón, the biggest coal mine in Latin America, is an open-cast operation spreading over hundreds of kilometres in one of the poorest regions of northern Colombia.
Farming communities have complained for decades that they have been forcibly displaced by the mine and that their water sources dried up after being diverted to it.
They report severe pollution of the land, air and remaining water and being left with little choice but to work for the mine in poor conditions.
The ESB imported millions of tonnes of coal from Cerrejón to power the Moneypoint station in Co Clare. It suspended buying fresh stocks in 2018 as part of the winding down of Moneypoint but has not disassociated itself from the mine.
In statements, the ESB says it is part of the Bettercoal initiative developed by a group of major coal-buying companies which aims to improve standards in mines and carries out regular checks on conditions.
The company’s position is that: “ESB believes that its active membership of Bettercoal provides the best platform to achieve continuous improvement in the mining industry.” The OECD ‘guidelines for multinational enterprises’, which GLAN claim were breached, are not legally binding but they are agreed by member states who undertake to ensure firms operating in or from their jurisdictions comply with them.
Gerry Liston, legal officer with GLAN, said the guidelines should carry all the more weight with the ESB because it was a State-owned enterprise.
“It must recognise its human rights obligations and immediately end relations with Cerrejón for good,” he said.
A United Nations human rights committee recommended last year that Ireland stop buying from Cerrejón, push for an independent inquiry into the operation of the mine and support restitution for those hurt by it.
Sorley McCaughey, head of policy at Christian Aid, said the lack of action showed the inadequacy of voluntary guidelines for industry.
“The Government must move quickly to introduce mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation for State-owned and Irish-based companies to ensure they do not undermine the human rights of workers or the communities in which they work, whether in Ireland or abroad,” he said.