Climate philanthropist George Soros invests millions in coal

Billionaire has previously funded renewable energy and low-carbon initiatives and has called coal a 'lethal bullet' for climate change

Billionaire climate philanthropist George Soros invested more than $2m (1.3m) in struggling coal giants Peabody Energy and Arch Coal in recent months, despite having once called the fuel "lethal" to the climate.

Filings with the Securities and Exchange commission show that between April and June this year Soros Fund Management (SFM) bought more than 1m shares in Peabody ($2.25m), the world's largest private coal company, and 500,000 shares in Arch ($188,000).