Environmentalists have urged the government to kill off new coal mines in the UK, by reforming the planning system to block their development. Friends of the Earth, along with the RSPB, WWF and a group of academics, said ministers should build on their international climate change leadership against coal by taking stronger action at home. The Durham-based firm also started work in May on an opencast mine at Pont Valley in County Durham, which campaigners allege commenced before planning conditions had been met. Another company, West Cumbria Mining, wants to build the UK’s first deep coal mine in decades, but a planning decision has been repeatedly delayed. The firm hopes for a ruling before the year’s end. The environmental groups said they wanted both new deep and opencast coal mining stopped, arguing opencast mining was a “small industry” that employed “relatively few people”.
Guardian 11th July 2018 read more »
Friends of the Earth’s Craig Bennett argues the justification for new coal mines is collapsing – it is time for the government to act.
Business Green 12th July 2018 read more »
