Hi John,

 

Does it ever frustrate you when someone says one thing but does another? It’s kinda two-faced, right? Well, safe to say, I’m feeling pretty frustrated with our government right now. 

 

Here’s why: for the past month the UK government has been on the world stage saying that in order to curb the climate crisis we need to end the era of coal. [1] Meanwhile, plans to build a new coal mine in Cumbria — and the first one in the UK in over 30 years — are still on the cards.

 

PM Boris Johnson has even gone as far to say he is “not in favour of more coal”, when quizzed on the mine in Cumbria. [2] He knows it, you know it and I know it — we are in a climate crisis and we need to keep fossil fuels in the ground. 

 

Now it’s time Johnson finally backs his words with action - he must step in to stop the mine. Can you join me and the 175,000 people demanding an end to coal in the UK? We want the future to be focused on renewable and sustainable industries.

As the dust settles around the UN climate talks, Johnson will be back in Downing Street hoping that we’ll let him go back to business-as-usual. But we can’t let-up the pressure just because the talks are over. 

 

A final decision on the Cumbria coal mine is due early next year. [3] And January is only six weeks away. 

 

So between now and then we need to increase the pressure on the government to put the final nail in the coffin for coal. And the first step is adding your name to the petition.

Here are four reasons why this coal mine shouldn’t go ahead:

1. People don’t want it: There has been dwindling support for the mine — from local MPs to local county councils. [4] Leading scientists have also spoken out to say this mine is not in line with the UK’s climate commitments. [5]
2. The steel industry doesn’t want or need it: There is little need for this coal mine. The steel industry is moving away from coal use fast and the quality of the coal means most of it wouldn’t even be used in the UK or Europe. [6] But if this mine gets built, it'll lock the UK into digging up highly-polluting coal for decades to come. 
3. There’s a growing green industry: Local green energy investment could create 9,000 jobs in Cumbria. [7] The government must prioritise these sustainable and stable industries and level up the UK in the truest sense of the word. By doing that they can provide employment opportunities for people in Cumbria in the industries of the future; rather than focusing on dying ones like coal.
4. We are in a climate emergency: The bottom line is, to have any hope of avoiding the worst effects of the climate crisis, we simply have to move away from fossil fuels. And as one of the first countries to get off coal power, the world is looking at the UK to lead by example.

At the UN climate conference, COP26, world governments finally officially acknowledged that tackling climate change means moving away from fossil fuels — though there is still no solid commitment to phase them out. 

 

But, even that admission wouldn’t have happened without decades of people like you taking action in the UK and across the world. We’ve achieved so much but that’s exactly why we’ve got to keep pushing. 

 

Thanks for all that you do, 

 

Sam 

Greenpeace

 

P.S. We’ve seen over and again that Boris Johnson can change decisions. So if we can turn up the pressure — it could be enough to end the Cumbria coal mine too. [8]

 

[1] UK COP26, End of coal in sight at COP26

[2] New Civil Engineer, Has Boris Johnson sounded death knell for controversial Cumbria coal mine?

[3] BBC, Cumbria coal mine planning inquiry closes

[4] Independent, Cumbria coal mine: Local Tory MP drops support for controversial project ahead of Cop26

[5] Vox, The UK ended deep coal production in 2016. So why is it opening a new coal mine in 2021?

[6] Greenpeace UK, It’s 2021. Why is the government allowing a new coal mine?

[7] Guardian, Green jobs in Cumbria could far surpass posts in coalmine, report says

[8] Mirror, Boris Johnson's 39 U-turns as Prime Minister

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