鈥淐onsign coal to history,鈥� UK prime minister Boris Johnson, responding to a landmark climate science report last year. A few months later at the COP26 climate summit, the world committed to accelerating the 鈥減hase-out鈥� of coal power. Just last month, John Gummer, the head of the UK鈥檚 independent Climate Change Committee (CCC), said: 鈥淎s far as the coal mine in Cumbria is concerned, let鈥檚 be absolutely clear, it is absolutely indefensible.鈥�
A political decision on that mine had been due on 7 July, but amid the chaos of Johnson鈥檚 resignation. The choice will now be near the top of the in tray for Greg Clark, who has been appointed the UK鈥檚 new secretary of state for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, following the sacking of Michael Gove.
If given the green light, the mine would be built by West Cumbria Mining, backed by an Australian private equity group. It should produce 2.8 million tonnes of coking coal for use in steel-making each year, and create 532 jobs. The kicker? The coal would release about a year鈥檚 worth of UK carbon dioxide emissions, assuming it operated for 50 years.
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Advocates say Cumbria needs the jobs and UK steel-makers would otherwise just import the coal. Yet . Even the remaining fifth appears unwelcome. British Steel, one of the UK鈥檚 primary steel-makers, has said the coal鈥檚 sulphur content means it wouldn鈥檛 want it. That leaves Tata Steel as the only potential customer. Leading materials scientists .
Meanwhile, the industry is exploring 鈥済reen steel鈥� innovations beyond coking coal, such as the use of hydrogen and greater use of electric arc furnaces. That leaves jobs. Cumbria, like other parts of the UK, needs them. Yet one report estimates that investing in renewables and other 鈥済reen industries鈥� instead . And , which secured investment in 93 renewable energy projects to power millions of homes, are another reminder that there are cleaner ways to make new jobs.
Why does this matter?
The coal mine might seem like a local row for local people, a parochial planning matter. But it is worth pausing to consider how pivotal 鈥渙ld king coal鈥� has been in the UK鈥檚 history. Its industrial revolution was built on the most carbon-intensive of fossil fuels. Coal was supplying more than two fifths of electricity just one decade ago. Yet the UK has phased it out at unprecedented speed and . 鈥淐oal, cars, cash and trees鈥� were Johnson鈥檚 sound-bite priorities at COP26.
The decision Clark makes as levelling up secretary will send a message to the world. The UK, even though it needs to do much more to cut emissions, is still rightly seen as a climate change leader worldwide. 鈥淚t鈥檇 be a big blow for the UK鈥檚 climate reputation鈥�, were the secretary to give a green light, says Rebecca Willis at Lancaster University, UK.
Right now, leadership on coal matters. Globally, but especially in Europe, many countries are turning to coal in the face of high gas prices and energy security concerns triggered by Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine. Germany has reversed policies to burn less coal so it can fill up gas storage facilities before autumn and winter. Austria is reopening a closed coal plant, France is thinking of doing the same, and the Netherlands has lifted a cap on coal. The UK has agreed to postpone closure of two coal power stations and .
These temporary steps are bad climate news, for sure. But we should keep them in perspective. The short extension of a few old UK coal plants that may only be used on a handful of cold, windless days this winter will emit relatively tiny amounts of CO鈧�. 鈥淚鈥檓 not at all concerned by brief extensions to coal plants that are used hardly at all during the year,鈥� Chris Stark, chief executive of the CCC, tells me.
Now is a crucial time for governments to ensure this coal revival is just a brief blip, not the start of a long-term trend. Any decisions that lock in new fossil fuel extraction聽鈥� such as a new coal mine that will operate for decades聽鈥撀� would fly in the face of the on how the world should get to net zero.
The political oxygen for climate change action may be in short supply globally now, but the imperative to act hasn鈥檛 gone away. That is why citizens are voting out governments that are climate laggards, as Australians demonstrated in May. Brazilians may yet do the same in October. Greg Clark may want to weigh how his decision on the coal mine, now due by 17 August, will be received by UK citizens concerned about climate change, who will get their vote by January 2025 at the latest.
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