ACCCE clean coal advertising and forged letters (US)
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
A coal-industry association is reported to have spent heavily on 'clean coal' advertising in 2008, and a subcontractor is reported to have sent forged letters against climate legislation in 2009. The reports are available only in summary form and are not independently verified.
The 2008–2009 association campaign is reported but not independently verified; see What is not known.
Status The 2008–2009 association campaign is reported only in summary form; no verified account, ruling or response is on record in the sources reviewed.
What happened
'Clean coal' was a marketing term for anthracite coal before the Second World War. From 1986 to 1993 it was the name of a programme run by the US Department of Energy.
The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) is described as a coal-industry association. The sources reviewed report a 2008 advertising campaign by the association and a 2009 episode in which letters were sent in the names of civil-rights organisations. These reports exist only in summary form and have not been independently verified, so they are listed under What is not known rather than stated here as fact.
According to Brulle and Werthman, in a study covering 1988 to 2020, the phrase 'clean coal' became an accepted way of speaking in the climate debate that was no longer questioned.
- 1986US Department of Energy Clean Coal programme begins
- 1993US Department of Energy Clean Coal programme ends
How it looked
Shown
Recorded
- The term 'clean coal' was used as a marketing term for anthracite before the Second World War and later became the name of a US Department of Energy programme that ran from 1986 to 1993.
- According to Brulle and Werthman, 'clean coal' became an accepted way of speaking in the climate debate, no longer questioned (study period 1988–2020).
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Figures
- Insufficient Advertising spend: Reported spend on 'clean coal' advertising; not independently verified.
- Insufficient Forged letters: Reported number of forged letters; not independently verified.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: the association spent $35–45 million on 'clean coal' advertising in 2008.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: in 2009 a subcontractor of the association, named in the reports as Bonner, sent 12 forged letters in the names of civil-rights organisations, opposing climate legislation.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: the advertising was prepared by the agency R&R Partners. The agency's fee from the association rests on secondary reports only.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: the US Department of Energy Clean Coal programme received about $2.6 billion up to 1990.
Did the harm stop?
Not on record in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not on record in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Press and investigations
- The clean coal lobbying blitzCenter for Public Integrity ·
Communities and civil society
- Clean coalGlobal Energy Monitor ·
Connected cases
- 45Q lobby coalition's founding director was named to head DOE carbon office United States · 2011–2025
- US Department of Energy (Government) — here: Ran the Clean Coal programme, 1986–1993; there: administers carbon management funds
- Hanford contractors settle false-claims suits as cleanup estimates rise United States · 1943–2086
- US Department of Energy (Government) — here: Ran the Clean Coal programme, 1986–1993; there: Owner of the Hanford site; published the 2025 cost estimate
- Leaked DOE list marks first tranches for two direct air capture hubs 'terminate' United States · 2021
- US Department of Energy (Government) — here: Ran the Clean Coal programme, 1986–1993; there: ran the hub funding and the list
- Occidental buys Holocene as US carbon removal staff is cut to one person United States · 2023–2025
- US Department of Energy (Government) — here: Ran the Clean Coal programme, 1986–1993; there: Federal department whose carbon removal staff was reduced
- Occidental Stratos direct air capture plant (Texas) United States · 2023–2026
- US Department of Energy (Government) — here: Ran the Clean Coal programme, 1986–1993; there: Funder of DAC hubs; Assistant Secretary Brad Crabtree from April 2022
- Sellafield decommissioning and Hanford cleanup budgets United States · 1943–2086
- US Department of Energy (Government) — here: Ran the Clean Coal programme, 1986–1993; there: Hanford owner and funder
- Syrah declares force majeure at Mozambique graphite mine after unrest Mozambique · 2024
- US Department of Energy (Government) — here: Ran the Clean Coal programme, 1986–1993; there: lender; loan defaulted