Coal’s Final Void

Book excerpt: This book explores the continuation of coal mining in Australia despite growing awareness of its contribution to the climate crisis. Through an in-depth ethnographic study, Kari Dahlgren reveals the complex and often contradictory ways that miners, lobbyists, and communities navigate the uncertain future of coal. By focusing on the human stories behind this industry, the book sheds light on broader environmental, political, and social issues of global significance. Dahlgren’s research spans multiple Australian coal communities, primarily in Moranbah, Queensland, and the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. She offers insights into the daily decisions and ethical considerations of coal miners and lobbyists that sustain the industry in the face of climate change. The book addresses diverse topics, such as labour precarity, gender roles, populist politics, and the moral accusations faced by pro-coal advocates, connecting these themes to the broader social and political challenges of Australia’s energy transition. Central to the book are the “final voids” left by mining—both physical and metonymic holes left in the aftermath of mining. These voids represent the emptied livelihoods of those entangled in the coal industry, as they grapple with the uncertainty of what comes next. The book explores how communities, lobbyists, and miners attempt to imagine and fill these voids with hopeful but often impractical visions, avoiding a reckoning with the industry's destructive legacy. This struggle highlights the deep entanglement of labour and ecological precarity in sustaining the climate crisis, offering fresh insights for scholars in anthropology, human geography, and energy policy. This book is essential reading for scholars, policymakers, and activists engaged in climate and energy debates, as well as anyone interested in the complex human dimensions of the energy transition.