Peabody Energy Corp

Peabody Energy is a leading global producer and marketer of coal, deriving its primary revenue from the mining, sale, and distribution of thermal coal for electricity generation and metallurgical coal for steelmaking. Its operational portfolio is centered on core coal-producing regions including the Powder River Basin, the Illinois Basin, and Asia-Pacific.

The company has been implicated in significant industry misconduct. In 2023, Peabody was named in an industry-wide coal quality fraud scandal in Australia, where miners were alleged to have falsified data on coal supplies. Further, Peabody has a documented history of using its influence to oppose climate action; a 2016 investigation revealed the company funded at least two dozen groups that cast doubt on anthropogenic climate change and opposed environmental regulations. The company also faces regulatory scrutiny for anti-competitive behavior, with the Federal Trade Commission having pursued action over a joint venture between Peabody and Arch Coal, citing a reasonable probability of harm to competition in the SPRB coal market.

Peabody Energy is the largest private-sector coal company in the world, deriving its revenue from mining thermal and metallurgical coal. Its core business of surface and underground mining directly causes documented environmental destruction. In March 2025, Peabody was found guilty of two separate pollution events in 2022 and ordered to pay more than half a million dollars in penalties for polluting the Royal National Park in Australia.

The company's operations are linked to severe water contamination from heavy metals and toxic discharge, habitat destruction from land clearing, and soil contamination. These impacts are characteristic of large-scale coal mining. While litigation attempting to link Peabody's emissions to specific climate damages was discharged in bankruptcy, the direct, physical environmental harm from its extractive operations is ongoing and material.

Peabody Energy Corporation is one of the world’s largest private-sector coal producers. In 2023, it reported selling 167.5 million tons of coal, generating $4.9 billion in revenue. Its primary business is the mining, processing, and sale of thermal coal for electricity generation and metallurgical coal for steelmaking.

The company has a documented history of actively contesting climate science and regulation. In 2016, an Administrative Law Judge for the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission concluded that Peabody failed to demonstrate that climate change impacts would be manageable, rejecting its core argument against carbon costs. The company has also petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its endangerment finding on greenhouse gases. Peabody’s operations have been the subject of climate-related litigation, including claims that its emissions contributed to sea-level rise and damages, though some claims were later discharged through bankruptcy proceedings.