Over plans to destroy Britain’s first new coal mine in 30 years, Boris Johnson and his climate change advisors are likely to disagree.
The chairman of the climate change committee, Lord Deben, declared Wednesday that mining for coal off the Cumbrian coast was “indefensible.”
This contradicts the Prime Minister’s recent claim that he wants to provide UK coal to the steel industry.
The UK hosted the Cop26 meeting in Glasgow last year, which produced a global agreement to “scale down” coal consumption globally. The government wants to stop using coal in power plants by 2024.
But Mr. Johnson wants to reduce the UK’s reliance on petroleum imports in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia provides about 40% of the coking coal we use.
Digging the new mine, according to Lord Deben, who served as John Gummer’s replacement as environment secretary from 1993 to 1997, will jeopardize efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 and set a poor example for other nations that are hesitant to abandon coal use.
The Leveling Up Secretary, Michael Gove, is deliberating on the matter and promises to make a decision by July 7.
By declaring that it “makes no sense” to import coal for steel when the UK has its own, the Prime Minister made it obvious this week that he supports the mine.
The need for coking coal, however, according to environmental activists, has drastically decreased in recent years.
Yesterday, Lord Deben introduced a 600-page report, saying, “As far as the coal mine goes, it is simply unjustifiable.” The first thing is that it will export 80% of the coal it produces.
It won’t help with our domestic needs in any way. This coal mine is not necessary for us.
He also criticized the Department of Transportation for not urging corporate travelers to skip long overseas flights altogether in favor of video conferencing.
Additionally, the chief executive of the climate change committee, Chris Stark, claimed that ten years ago, the government’s initiative to insulate UK homes “went off a cliff.”