Hi John,

Can you help us to stop a new coal mine going ahead in Cumbria? 

Despite energetic campaigning by local activists (including members of Global Justice South Lakes), in October last year Cumbria County Council gave the go ahead to a new mine near Whitehaven. The communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, has the power to intervene in this kind of planning decision, but so far has declined to do so. There's still time for him to act - but not much!

As Maggie Mason of South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC) says: 

“This new mine would allow the extraction of 2.78 million tonnes of coal every year until 2050, the year by which the UK will supposedly have reached net-zero carbon emissions. The government's chief planning officer has said Cumbria County Council's approval of the mine is a ‘decision for local determination’. But the impacts of the mine, and the emissions it releases, will go far beyond Cumbria, and to say that the climate crisis is a local issue is clearly absurd.” 

With the UK due to host the UN climate talks in November, not everyone in government agrees with approving the mine. We can push the government to reverse course, but time is short. Cumbria Council could finalise the decision within the week. 

Around the world, and especially in the global south, people are already feeling the devastating effects of climate breakdown. If we want to avoid even worse, we have to start leaving coal and other fossil fuels in the ground. SLACC and others have done excellent work so far, but now they need the help of all of us to change the government’s mind. 

PS. If you want to understand more about the case against this mine, Maggie has written about it for our blog. 

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