Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Runs The Dirtiest Coal Plants In America: His Successor Greg Abel Is Defending Them Despite Starting Out In Clean Energy

Greg Abel, set to succeed Warren Buffett as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, started his career pushing for geothermal energy in California. But as he prepares to take over from one of the world's most influential investors, Abel now oversees a huge fossil fuel empire and defends coal power, even as the climate crisis worsens.

What Happened: Abel started at CalEnergy in 1992, according to the Los Angeles Times. Working with geothermal plants at the Salton Sea and China Lake that produced clean electricity, he rose through the ranks, ultimately becoming president.

In 1999, CalEnergy purchased MidAmerican Energy, and soon, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway became a major investor. This deal marked Buffett's entry into the energy sector and brought Abel into his inner coterie.

Despite his start in clean energy, at the company's annual meeting in Omaha, Abel responded to a question about Berkshire's coal pollution, which is ranked worst among major U.S. firms for nitrogen oxide emissions according to a Reuters investigation, by stating that utilities like MidAmerican were molded by state policies.

"We had to recognize we implement public policy across these states," he said. Abel also said that coal plants were still vital to grid stability, particularly in Iowa, where five coal units are still operational.

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Why It Matters: Abel's comments, alongside Berkshire's lobbying record, indicate that the company is reluctant to hasten a transition to clean energy.

Grassroots environmental organization Sierra Club criticized Abel's response, saying: "Berkshire has teams of aggressive lobbyists and lawyers who fight against any regulation on the state and federal levels that would incentivize transitions to clean energy."

As per data compiled by OpenSecrets.org, Berkshire spent $65 million lobbying the federal government in the last ten years. It has called for the loosening of air pollution regulations and filed lawsuits against federal and state environmental policies.

The company has also delayed closures of its coal plants in Utah and Wyoming, and is asking the Trump administration to block pollution-control mandates put in place to protect air quality in national parks.

While California has almost eliminated coal from its power mix, Berkshire's PacifiCorp still operates six coal plants across the Western U.S. A PacifiCorp spokesperson told the LA Times that coal retirement timelines are not firm commitments, and said they are subject to change.

Meanwhile, according to Bloomberg, Berkshire's investment in Occidental Petroleum stock has not turned out to be a successful bet, with analysts estimating that the company suffered around $4.5 billion in losses.

As Abel steps into Buffett's role, the contrast between his earlier involvement in clean energy and current coal-friendly stance raises questions about the future path of one of America's most impactful companies.

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