Deutsche Bank on Thursday tightened its coal financing policies but has yet to change its criteria for the oil and gas industries, drawing criticism from climate activists.
While a number of European countries besides Poland, such as Germany and Hungary, are burning more polluting brown coal, or lignite, to keep the lights on, experts say it's the use of the fuel at home that will have the biggest impact on health.
The executive director of South Africa's Presidential Commission on Climate Change called the country's coal industry "delusional" on Wednesday, saying the market for the fossil fuel is going to dwindle rapidly in the next decade.
South Africa has rejected state power provider Eskom's request to remain exempt from pollution standards on some coal-fired power stations, which the utility said would force it to immediately shut down 16,000 MW of capacity.
