The coal industry is facing hard times as it tries to battle against a growing demand for climate action and clean energy.

Cheaper and cheaper renewables along with the increasingly successful fossil fuel divestment campaign (which largely targets coal for being the dirtiest of all the fossil fuels) means the industry has had to reimagine itself.

This is where Peabody Energy comes in. The coal giant launched it PR offensive to rebrand coal as the “21st century fuel” that can help solve global poverty.

Ludicrous and Opportunistic

The company’s CEO Greg Boyce even went so far as to claim that more energy would “have spurred the distribution of a hypothetical Ebola vaccine.”

Unsurprisingly public health experts described this argument as “ludicrous, insulting and opportunistic.”

While many see the Peabody campaign for what it is, there are others that still think coal is pretty nifty. Chief among them is Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott who insists coal is the future.

But how did this all come to be? Perhaps this satirical video “Inside the Coal Association coal bunker” published this week will shed some light.

Video via ‘Coal Land’ on Youtube