Did Peabody Energy Exploit the Ebola Crisis for Financial Gain?

The largest privately-owned coal company in the world, Peabody Energy, have come under fire for what has perceived to have been an explicit attempt to exploit the dire health crisis in Africa due to the outbreak of Ebola.

The criticism arose when it became public that Peabody had attempted to promote coal as a potential solution to the crisis by prophesising that more widespread use of the substance in regions suffering from the Ebola epidemic would have allowed for better distribution and refrigeration of vaccines. However, this assertion ignores the fact that no vaccine as yet exists.

Coal Under Attack

Over recent years, an increasing preoccupation with the dangerous side-effects of burning fossil fuels has meant that the coal industry has come under heavy attack. This is not least because it is the most damaging in terms of carbon emissions of all fossil fuel combustion processes, but also because of the potential for heavy metals to pollute surrounding soil samples as a direct result of coal power production.

However, this latest attack is less to do with the environmental consequences of coal than the ethics of Peabody’s PR team. In a presentation to the members of the Norwegian government’s pension fund (which had formerly been a significant investor in the company to the tune of 1.2bn NOK in 2010, but whose investment had slipped to a fraction of that – just 64m NOK at the time of the Ebola outbreak), Peabody claimed that their energy product would have meant that deaths could have been limited by transporting vaccines more efficiently. As corroborating evidence, they cited an infectious disease expert from the University of Pennsylvania. The specialist concerned, Harvey Rubin, has since denied all knowledge of the company and has complained they spelled his name wrong in their presentation.

What the Critics Say

Those who have been outraged with Peabody’s actions have slated them for allegedly exploiting an epidemic which took the lives of more than 11,000 people to promote the global image of their product. The timing of the assertion, as well as the fact that no vaccine or inoculation existed (rendering their argument essentially groundless) has enraged certain quarters, including the following:

• Irwin Redlener, White House advisor on Ebola crisis and director of Columbia University’s National Centre for Disaster Preparedness: “Peabody has very specific and explicit corporate goals. I think this is a pretty far-fetched leap from a global crisis to try to justify the existence of a company that is interested in producing and selling coal. I think it’s an opportunistic attempt and somewhat desperate to relate corporate self-interest to a massive public health crisis.”
• Skip Burkle, senior fellow of Harvard Humanitarian Initiative: “The coal industry is going down but there are other answers to this and it is not to dump it in Africa. It is just an insult to the population.”
• Harvey Rubin, the specialist cited as supporting Peabody’s claims: “I know nothing about the coal industry.”

The Bottom Line

Whatever Peabody’s intentions, their initial presentation does not seem to have been enough to sway the Norwegian government pension fund, who have since revoked all investments in the company. Simultaneously, the episode has caused a media storm which does not reflect kindly on the company. Whether or not you view Peabody’s actions as the malicious exploitation of a tragic disaster for financial gain, an unfortunate slip of the tongue or an innocent hypothetical promotion of their own product, they have certainly suffered adversely in terms of reputation.