Coal Action – South Lakes Action on Climate Change

Published 12.4.21

As the UK prepares to lead COP26 Climate talks in Glasgow this November, there was widespread shock and dismay when Robert Jenrick, the Minister responsible for planning issues refused to intervene in a proposed coal mine in Cumbria, calling it a purely local matter. The mine would extract 2.78 MT of coking coal a year, which is currently used for making steel, and would release about 9 Mt of CO2 a year.  The Committee on Climate Change intervened to say that steel making needs to be zero carbon by 2035, and that hydrogen could replace coal by then.

South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC) is a small Cumbrian Charity that has been driving opposition to the new Coal Mine for 3 years and, with excellent work from their legal team, successfully pushed to get a Public Inquiry.  We have the POWER has been pleased to support SLACC in their fight to this point.  SLACC has been granted permission to take part in the Inquiry, and will need professional help and expert witnesses to present the best possible case to stop this mine.  Support their CrowdJustice fundraising campaign here.