Christian Aid has criticised the ESB for restarting the importation of coal from a controversial mine in Colombia for use in fuelling the Moneypoint power station.
The Cerrejón mine has been accused by non-governmental organisations around the world of having a questionable record on human rights and protection of the environment.
However, Cerrejón claims it seeks the highest standards of ethics and respect in its relationship with all of its stakeholders and is committed to developing operations in an environmentally responsible manner.
In a letter to Social Democrats TD, Gary Gannon, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the state energy company had recently ordered coal from the facility.
This was confirmed by the ESB which said in a statement that it was prompted by its decision not to take delivery of Russian coal for the foreseeable future.
It added that "…in order to maintain a secure supply of coal to meet electricity demand from Irish customers in the months ahead, ESB has recently placed orders for coal from Colombia for use at Moneypoint over that period."
Christian Aid said for two decades the ESB purchased millions of tonnes of coal from Cerrejón, but ended the imports four years ago.
It said the Minister for Foreign Affairs reassured TDs in March and May that the Government was aware of the human rights concerns at Cerrejón and understood the ESB would not be sourcing coal from there, but that is not now the case.
"We've been working on this case for years, trying to support communities and hold the companies involved to account," said Conor O’Neill, Christian Aid Ireland’s Head of Policy and Advocacy.
"Major buyers including the ESB often point to the 'Bettercoal’ assessment initiative but this is an industry-funded process, unfit for purpose and lacking in transparency."
"It hasn’t fixed the very real harms on the ground, still fuelled by our ongoing reliance on this coal."
The ESB confirmed that it remains a member of Bettercoal whose mission is to promote continuous improvement in mining and sourcing coal for the benefit of all the people affected by the industry.
"Bettercoal, through the Colombia Working Groups, has had frequent communications with Cerrejón and other Colombian producers where the Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP) is discussed along with other issues that are brought to the attention of Bettercoal and its individual members regarding plant operations and its effect on local communities," it said.
Gary Gannon, who travelled to Colombia in April as part of parliamentary delegation, said he'd seen with his own eyes the devastating environmental impact of the mine and the pain of indigenous communities pushed off their land for its expansion.
"There’s a worrying double standard in this shift back to Cerrejón," he said.
"We’re rightly saying no to Russian coal following the invasion of Ukraine, recognising the impact our trade decisions can have on human rights. But that standard must be applied everywhere, including in Colombia."
The Irish Coalition for Business and Human Rights said the development emphasises why the Irish government needs to support strong, binding corporate accountability legislation nationally and EU level.
The OECD’s corporate monitoring body is currently investigating a pre-existing complaint regarding the ESB’s involvement with the Cerrejón mine that was filed by the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Christian Aid Ireland and a coalition of Colombian NGOs.
