Fact check: Did environmentalist Tom Steyer produce more coal than all of Britain?

During the fifth Democratic presidential debate on Wednesday, former Vice President Joe Biden went toe-to-toe with Tom Steyer, a California billionaire and environmental activist, on the issue of climate change.

Biden said “My friend was producing more coal mines and produced more coal around the world, according to the press, than all of Great Britain produces.”

The intent of Biden’s statement is true, though his wording wasn’t precise.

While Steyer himself didn’t personally own the coal mines, the San Francisco-based Farallon Capital Management hedge fund he managed did make sizable investments in coal mines across the world, including an Australian one known as Maules Creek.

A New York Times investigation concluded that coal mine production for the mines Steyer’s hedge fund invested in while he was leading the firm “have increased their annual production by about 70 million tons since they received money from the hedge fund,” which “is more than the amount of coal consumed annually by Britain.” Biden instead cited the amount of coal Britain “produces.”

Steyer did not respond to Biden’s claim during the debate and instead said he’s been a leader on the issue of climate change for more than 10 years. His campaign appeared to express regret for the investment and pointed out that Steyer left the firm in 2012 because the group’s investments conflicted with his values.

“Tom withdrew from Farallon as a partner, in part, because it invested in fossil fuels,” Steyer’s campaign said. “He made the decision to focus his efforts on the immense risks of climate change and wanted to push hard against them. Clearly, knowing what he knows now from over 10 years working to address climate change, he wishes he made that decision to transition away from these investments even earlier, but when he made the decision he made a clean break with investing in fossil fuels to ensure his portfolio matched his values.”