Colombia halts coal exports to Israel over Gaza war
BOGOTA - Colombia's President Gustavo Petro on Saturday said the country, which is reported to be Israel's biggest supplier of coal, will suspend exports of the fuel source to Israel over its assault on the Gaza Strip.
Petro, a leftist, cut diplomatic ties with Israel in May and has strongly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a post on social media platform X, he said coal exports would be halted "until the genocide is stopped", referring to Palestinian deaths in the conflict.
Israel denies accusations that its war violates the international genocide convention.
The measure will take effect in five days, according to a Colombian government decree, which said coal is used by Israel as an energy source to make weapons and other military goods.
"Colombia believes that the military operations against the Palestinian people represent a transgression of a peremptory norm of international law," the document said.
According to the American Journal of Transportation, Colombia is the biggest supplier of coal to Israel, representing more than half of its imports.
Israel has relied on coal for 20% of its electricity generation but that is expected to drop to 3%, and it has other coal sources, the journal said.
Colombia's private mining association has said such a ban would violate international agreements and put market confidence and foreign investment at risk.
Colombia is the world's fifth largest coal producer, with Drummond and Glencore among its major miners.
The country sent 56.7-million metric tons of coal abroad last year, including three-million tons to Israel, about 5.4% of total exports, according to government data.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Weir Minerals Europe, Middle East and Africa is a global supplier of excellent minerals solutions, including pumps, valves, hydrocyclones,...
VISIT SHOWROOM
At SMS group, we have made it our mission to create a carbon-neutral and sustainable metals industry.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
