Edstrom clicked play, and a slide popped up titled “Turning a coal mine into a diamond in 6 months.” Set to peppy music, the video, since taken down, describes a recent McKinsey job for what appeared to be an Asian client that resulted in a coal mine increasing production by 26 percent, he said. Despite the global climate crisis, despite the fact that burning coal for power contributes nearly a third of energy-related carbon emissions, someone at McKinsey thought this work was praiseworthy.
