Boris Johnson heads for a climate clash over plans for new coal mine
- Lord Deben said excavating for coal off the coast of Cumbria was ‘indefensible’
- The PM is looking for ways to supply the steel industry with UK coal
- Last year’s Cop26 summit in resulted in a global pact to ‘phase down’ coal use
- But since Russia’s Ukraine invasion, Mr Johnson has been working to reduce the UK’s reliance on fuel imports
Boris Johnson is set to clash with his climate change advisers over plans to sink Britain’s first new coal mine in 30 years.
Lord Deben, chairman of the climate change committee, said yesterday that excavating for coal off the coast of Cumbria was ‘indefensible’.
This flies in the face of the Prime Minister’s recent statement that he wants to supply the steel industry with UK coal.
Following Russia’s Ukraine invasion, Mr Johnson is keen to make the UK less reliant on fuel imports
Last year’s Cop26 summit in Glasgow, hosted by the UK, resulted in a global pact to ‘phase down’ coal use worldwide and the Government aims to stop using it in power stations by 2024.
But following Russia’s Ukraine invasion, Mr Johnson is keen to make the UK less reliant on fuel imports. Around 40 per cent of our coking coal is from Russia.
Lord Deben, who as John Gummer was environment secretary from 1993 to 1997, said digging the new mine would undermine plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 and set a bad example to other countries reluctant to stop using coal. The issue is being considered by the Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove, who says he will make a decision before July 7.
Lord Deben, John Selwyn Gummer, said that excavating for coal off the coast of Cumbria was ‘indefensible’
Last week the Prime Minister made clear he is in favour of the mine by saying it ‘makes no sense’ to import coal for steel when the UK has its own.
But green campaigners say demand for coking coal to make steel has hugely declined in recent years.
Launching a 600-page report yesterday, Lord Deben said: ‘As far as the coal mine goes, it is absolutely indefensible. First of all 80 per cent of the coal it produces will be exported. It is not going to contribute anything to our domestic needs. We do not need this coal mine.’
He also criticised the Department for Transport for not advising business people to take fewer international flights and use video conferencing instead.
And climate change committee chief executive Chris Stark said the Government’s programme to insulate UK homes ‘fell off a cliff’ a decade ago.
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