Cumbria coal mine: on hold

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Hi <<First Name>>,

I’m writing to let you know some good news, if you haven’t seen it already: the justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, has ordered a public inquiry into the plans for the UK’s first open-cast coal mine for a generation in Cumbria.

This is exactly what local campaigners have been asking for, and what you and the 7,500 others who took our email action demanded of him earlier this year.

This doesn’t mean the mine is cancelled – yet. But it’s a breakthrough in the campaign to stop what would be a disastrous move in the year the UK hosts the COP26 climate summit.

Winning the argument

The campaign against the mine has mobilised many prominent voices including leading climate scientist James Hansen who said it would lead to “ignominy and humiliation” for the UK and showed a “contemptuous disregard for the future of young people”.

It has also begun to break down the arguments put forward for the mine, including that the coal is necessary for the UK steel industry. The Committee on Climate Change noted that 85% of the coal mined in Cumbria will be for export, while new research has cast doubt on whether it will be legal to use the Cumbria coal in the steel industry under UK sulphur limits.

Meanwhile, it is claimed the mine will provide 500 much-need jobs, 400 of them in Cumbria, but a new report has shown that 9,000 green jobs could be created in Cumbria with associated positive benefits.

So, thank you once again for taking action. I will keep you posted if there is more we can do to support the campaign as the public inquiry gets underway.

From the Ground Up

Finally, if you’d like to get more involved in the run up to COP26, join us and activists from around the world from 22-25 April for an online event to discuss how to build a powerful, effective and inclusive climate justice movement.

Best wishes,

James O’Nions
Head of activism, Global Justice Now

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