The planned coal mine in Cumbria, is having a hard time gaining national support. A recent poll shows that half the population want ministers to block it on climate grounds, only 9% of people surveyed believed the coal mine would be positive.
Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, said:
‘This coal mine is completely at odds with the government’s ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050,” he said. “Frankly, it makes the UK a laughing stock in the year it is hosting one of the most important climate summits ever.
“How can any other country take Boris Johnson seriously when he calls for action to tackle climate change if his own government is giving the green light to a long-term investment in the most polluting of all fossil fuels, at a time when the UK is supposed to be rapidly reducing its emissions?”
He described the new mine as a ‘shocking indictment of how lightly this government takes its climate commitments’.
Regardless of the detrimental effects the Cumbria coal mine will have on the environment and the UK’s climate targets, some ministers have argued that it is a local issue. They argue that Cumbria County Council, which gave it the green light last year, have the final say.
It was announced 9 Feb that the council is reconsidering its approval of the new coal mine. A welcome turn for planet and people.
Read the full story at The Independent
