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Coal in 2021

Opencast coal extraction

Opencast coal extraction causes extensive damage to local environments by opening up the land like a quarry, destroying habitats and polluting the air and water. Imported coal, from Russia, Venezuela, Colombia, the USA and Australia, also carries significant environmental and human rights impacts.

As of July 2021 it was confirmed there are no more applications or appeals for opencast coal extraction in England. There are two opencast coal mines operational in South Wales.

Coal for steel (coking coal)

There are two potential sites for new underground coking coal mines. West Cumbria Mining Ltd and NAE want to extract millions of tonnes of coking coal a year from sites in Cumbria and the Scottish borders. The coal would be exported to European steelworks.

Both sites would produce coking coal which is processed into coke and used at steel works which use high carbon blast furnaces. Port Talbot and Scunthorpe steelworks use these methods and are the second and third biggest single source emitters of carbon in the UK.

It is possible to make steel without coal using electric arc furnaces and recycling as well as through direct reduction iron production. New methods to produce steel with hydrogen are being trialled.

Power stations

Coal-use in electricity declined to its lowest ever level in 2021, thanks to grassroots and NGO campaigning for a total phase-out of coal by 2025 which has now been brought forward to 2024.

There are now only three power stations left open in the UK, running occasionally.

Global impacts

Coal is the fuel that contributes most to climate change. Climate change impacts communities in the Global South, who least caused the problem, first and hardest.

The UK is also the financial centre of global coal mining, as many of the world's major mining companies are listed on the London Stock Exchange, as well as coal insurers and financiers.

The UK heads up the international 'Powering Past Coal Alliance' and hosts COP26 in 2021, but has yet to end coal extraction at home or fully end financial support for international coal mining.

New Coal Action Network report ~ Coal in Steel: Problems and solutions

Coal Action Network is excited to release a new report - Coal in Steel: problems and solutions

Coal in Steel is aimed at those looking for background information to campaigns against proposed new coking coal mines and considering how coal needs to be phased out of steel production. The report counters the positions of companies arguing for an ongoing need for coking coal in the steel industry. Coal in Steel is UK focused, but the coking coal mines proposed would export coal, to Europe or beyond.

The report answers questions such as:

  • When is coking coal used rather than thermal coal?

  • How is coking coal consumed by the steel industry?

  • What climate impacts does burning coking coal have?

  • What are the social and ecological impacts of mining coal?

  • How can we decarbonise the steel sector?

  • What is the government doing about steel sector emissions?

  • Why new coking coal mines are a step in the wrong direction.

The public inquiry into West Cumbria Mining Ltd's proposed 2.78mtpa coking coal mine opened last week. After the planning inspector gives his recommendation, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will decide whether this application can extract coal to be sold predominantly to foreign markets. This report answers the arguments raised in support of this, and similar, applications.

Key facts in the report include:

  1. Two of the three biggest single site carbon emitters in the UK are Tata Steel's Port Talbot steelworks and British Steel's Scunthorpe steelworks, which use coking coal.

  2. Steel is already being produced in two of the four major UK steelworks via electric arc furnaces and recycled scrap steel, resulting in much lower emissions and no need for coal usage.

  3. The British government is considering the implications of the recommendation of its Climate Change Committee to ‘set targets for ore-based steelmaking to reach near-zero emissions by 2035’.

  4. Green hydrogen is already being used to produce steel without coal or large emissions, with project such as HYBRIT in Sweden having already sold low emission steel. Many more projects are expected to follow suit before 2030.

  5. Four of the five world's biggest steel makers have made strong commitments to net-zero carbon steel and drastic coal use reduction by 2050.

  6. There is no such thing as carbon neutral coking coal.

Download the Coal in Steel: problems and solutions report, or our one page summary to find out more.

Creative opposition to proposed Cumbrian coking coal mine on first day of public inquiry

From West Cumbria to London, opposition to the controversial proposal for an underground coking coal mine, sited near Whitehaven, is widespread and growing. On 7th September, the day the public inquiry investigating the proposal by West Cumbria Mining Ltd started, members of the public gather in two locations to demand a greener future, in which a new coal mine has no place.

West Cumbria Mining Ltd want to extract 2.78 million tonnes of coking coal annually that would emit around 8.4 million tonnes of CO2 each year until 2049. Cumbria County Council approved the application, but in March 2021, the government decided it will be the final arbitrator. This was the result of requests from many quarters, including over 113,999 people supporting Coal Action Network's demand the government call in the decision.

A flock of canaries descended on the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government in central London, with messages to the Robert Jenrick from members of the public. Around 70 members of the public gathered in total split between with the canaries at the Ministry and those at the proposed mine site near Whitehaven, Cumbria.

Underground coal miners used to take canaries in cages into the mines. The birds would weaken and die when exposed to lethal gasses released by mining, acting as an early detection to protect the miners working deep underground.

Jill Perry from West Cumbria, who attended the Cumbrian rally spoke via phone and megaphone to the concerned people gathered in London. She said, “The steel industry is very carbon-intensive but is making fast strides in weaning itself off coking coal and onto green hydrogen so we don't need this new coal mine, we need to encourage the British steel industry to solidify its future by going green, and Whitehaven to provide a more certain future for its residents by going for green jobs.”

The whole flock outside the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government to sounded the alarm about the damage approving this new coal mine proposal would do to limiting climate change. Many people are concerned what a new coal mine would do to the UK’s reputation in climate leadership, the government’s net-zero commitment, investment in jobs of limited future prospects, and to steel decarbonisation momentum.

Read the excellent write up of the London rally on Desmog.

West Cumbria Mining Ltd and EMR Capital - we reveal all.

Overview

Coal Action Network has commissioned research revealing massive debts of over £29million, Cayman Islands tax havens, corporate structures that undermine responsibility, and taxes that may not get paid.

Who owns who, and how

  • EMR Capital Resources Fund 1, LP. owns EMR Capital Investment (No.3B) Pte. Ltd.
  • EMR Capital Investment (No.3B) Pte. Ltd owns 80% of shares in West Cumbria Mining (Holdings) Ltd – enough to control it like a puppet.
  • West Cumbria Mining (Holdings) Ltd is the parent company of West Cumbria Mining Ltd.

Why does that matter?

If West Cumbria Mining Ltd gain planning permission for the coal mine, the local council will apply ‘section 106 conditions’ that’ll mandate its responsibilities such as remediating the environment at the end of mining. Legally, West Cumbria Mining Ltd. will need to fulfil these conditions (though they’re often ignored) as well as other responsibilities such as compensation if things go wrong – but it doesn’t have its own money to do that, as it’s financially dependent on EMR Capital. If these liabilities add up to more than the likely profit, EMR Capital could just asset-strip what little West Cumbria Mining Ltd owns, and walk away, leaving taxpayers in the UK to clean up the mess. A similar event happened with Margam opencast coal mine in 2010.

Who are EMR Capital Resources Fund 1, LP.?

A private equity fund that specialises in investments within the mining sector. EMR Capital Resources Fund 1, LP. and EMR Capital Investment (No.3B) Pte. Ltd have offices in the Cayman Islands tax haven, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia. The company typically invests in a mine for 3-5 years, then sells it onto another private equity fund at a profit.

Why does that matter?

Selling a company at a profit is often done by cutting costs so the company is more profitable, at least in the short-term. Costs can be reduced by cutting employees (which happened recently), benefits, and operating standards such as environmental protection. The location of the company’s offices mean it has little accountability to the UK government, or us, if things go wrong such as people are injured or the environment requires remediation.

Loans and financial dependence

EMR Capital Investment has loaned West Cumbria Mining Ltd at least £29 MILLION so far. The interest on a portion of this loan rose to 15% in 2020. As of 2020, West Cumbria Mining (Holdings) Ltd owed £947,545 in interest alone. West Cumbria Mining Ltd’s 2020 annual financial report documents that the company’s viability is dependent on EMR Capital’s financial support.

Why does that matter?

This means that West Cumbria Mining Ltd is vulnerable to bankruptcy if EMR Capital Investment pull out, which it has reportedly started to consider. That could mean that the mine is started, causing a huge amount of local environmental damage, but not completed, with the taxpayer having to fix the environment to the extent it can afford to.

Taxes

West Cumbria Mining (Holdings) Ltd is operating over £12million in losses that’ll be offset against any future trading profit. Together with repaying its loan of £29 million to EMR Capital Investment and huge start-up costs, the amount that West Cumbria Mining pays in UK tax will be minimal for a long time.

Why does that matter?

A company profits from the natural resources and infrastructure owned and funded by us. This costs us in damage to the environment, infrastructure, and loss of natural resources. A key part of why companies are permitted to do this, is because we receive a proportion of that profit back in tax - more than it costs us, though it's obviously difficult to price natural resources and the environment that'll be impacted. West Cumbria Mining Ltd's finances means that we end up paying more than we get back, with company executives walking away with bonuses and huge profits that happen outside the reach of the UK tax authorities.

See a PDF of our parody investment brochure from EMR Capital... are you convinced?

Original research by Vivek Krotecha, 2021

Published: 01/09/2021

11 groups commit to taking direct action to stop the West Cumbria coal mine if government approves it

The statement reads:

If the Secretary of State fails to stop the West Cumbria coal mine, we, the undersigned, will.

We, the undersigned, say that the fight to stop the West Cumbria coal mine is not over if the Secretary of State grants West Cumbria Mining Ltd. permission to wreak climate chaos.

We commit to taking the action necessary to prevent the damage that West Cumbria Mining Ltd.’s proposed coking coal mine would cause to the local environment, UK climate leadership, and global climate change if the Secretary of State fails to stop it after the public inquiry.

Limits of the public inquiry

The Planning Inquiry that’ll guide the Secretary of State’s decision will be limited by a National Planning Policy Framework that’s no longer fit for purpose in its failure to centre contributions to climate change in planning considerations. A recent precedent also means the Planning Inquiry may not even consider the ‘downstream’ impacts of the coal mine—namely how the coal will be used. Starting a new coal mine means more coal is used and generating greater emissions, but these emissions may be discounted. This would limit the public inquiry to consideration of the impacts from the mining only. We will not be bound by the limitations imposed on the public inquiry.

This mine must be prevented

We are living on the brink of climate catastrophe as well as many collapsing local ecosystems around the UK. Allowing this new coal mine now would cost the UK in terms of its environment, publicly funded infrastructure, and climate leadership, with any tax income in question. Resources must instead be invested in generating green jobs within West Cumbria, proving that it is not a choice of jobs in climate-trashing industries or unemployment—as that’s not a choice to most people.

Our commitment

We resolve to take the direct action that’s necessary to stop the proposed West Cumbria coal mine if the public inquiry and Secretary of State fail the British public and our future generations by permitting this climate wrecking proposal to go ahead. This direct action will involve a diversity of online and offline tactics that have a proud history of playing a vital role in protecting people, animals, and the environment where other methods have been ineffective and exhausted. In the UK, this includes the civil rights movement, women’s vote, disabled rights, genetically modified farming, and the phase-out of using coal to generate electricity.

Signed so far:

Bristol Rising Tide

Coal Action Network

Columban Missionaries Britain

Earth First! Gathering UK

Earth First! North East

Green Anti-capitalist Front

Insurance Rebellion

Reclaim the Power

Rising Tide UK

West Cumbria Friends of the Earth

XR North East and Cumbria

We’ll see you in the streets!

Copies of the statement have been posted to West Cumbria Mining Ltd, and EMR Capital - who are their financial lifeline (explained in this parody investment brochure).

Press release

Coal Action Network is one of 11 action groups committing to take direct action against the proposed Cumbrian coking coal mine, should the government reject all of the evidence at the public inquiry and approve the mine. Download a PDF of the joint statement or this press release.

Direct action groups are signing onto a public statement (below), committing to take action to stop the controversial coal mine proposal, if, after the public inquiry, Gove approves it despite direct warnings from its own Climate Change Committee. Copies of this statement, along with a parody booklet about West Cumbria Mining Ltd’s links with investors in the Cayman Islands tax haven, and a flyer for public rallies planned on the first day of the public inquiry were posted to offices of connected companies around the world this week.

EMR Capital was recently reported to be wavering in their financial support to West Cumbria Mining Ltd due to the costs in legal and expert fees of trying to win the upcoming public inquiry. The most recent annual accounts show that this finance is essential for West Cumbria Mining Ltd to operate.

Direct action can cause severe delays to large-scale projects and cost companies huge amounts­­—HS2 Ltd recently estimated protestors had cost the company £75million so far. The possibility of further delays and yet further costs may concern other investors or insurance providers that would have otherwise shown interest if the coal mine eventually got the go ahead from Micheal Gove.

Direct action has been a prominent element of many struggles for social improvement and reform throughout history, more recently including civil rights movement, women’s vote, disabled rights, genetically modified farming, and the phase-out of using coal to generate electricity. With the local campaign having exhausted other options, groups signing onto this statement are therefore committing to using direct action again to end all coal mining in the UK.

These groups believe, that irrespective of its stated use, industry cannot continue using coal and other fossil fuels—citing that impacts of climate change are already causing ecosystems to start failing in some countries where people are often more reliant on them for their survival.

ENDS

Updated 24 September to reflect the change of Secretary of State in the latest cabinet reshuffle means Micheal Gove will make the decision following the planning inspectorates recommendation.

The latest cautionary tale: Halton Lea Gate opencast coal mine

Overview

Between 2008 and 2012, communities fought against the threat of an opencast coal mine on the edge of their picturesque rural Northumberland villages. Northumberland Local Planning Authority sided with the local communities and rejected the application in 2011. But that rejection was appealed by the applicant, HM Projects Developments Ltd. The planning inspectorate sided with the applicant and overturned the communities’ and Local Planning Authority’s rejection, based on the misplaced faith that their additional ‘section 106’conditions would prevent negative impacts on the local environment and community. Those conditions and promises were, of course, broken with damage to the local environment by HM Project Developments Ltd. as it proceeded in 2012 with permission to extract 140,000 tonnes of coal just 50 metres from the closest residence over the next 8 years. As the opencast coal mine neared the end of its profitability in 2020, HM Project Developments Ltd. declared bankruptcy, thereby abandoning the opencast site on the edge of the Halton Lea Gate village and breaking its promise to pay into the promised community fund or for environmental remediation. The joint administrators appointed to tie up the loose ends of the company’s finances and responsibilities decided to leave remaining coal reserves, restore the farmland, and market it for sale to finance some of the company’s debts, with finance from ExWorks, a US credit company.

A debt to the community

HM Project Developments Ltd. bankruptcy means that the £75,000 pledged to a community fund is unlikely to materialise. In retrospect, the Northumberland Local Planning Authority noted that it’s ‘section 106 conditions’ should have required HM Project Developments Ltd. to pay into the fund in a staged way throughout the project, rather than a lump sum at the end to avoid this scenario in the future. The bankrupt company’s joint administrators—Benjamin Wiles and Steven Muncaster of Kroll Advisory Ltd.—were appointed in 30 April 2020 and are apparently still in discussion with Northumberland Local Planning Authority on the community fund, but the outlook is not good as debts exceed £11 million, over 5x the predicted worth of the company’s remaining assets.

A debt to the local environment in 2020

Coal Action Network visited the site in July 2020 after it was abandoned by the company. There we were confronted with a hole in the landscape of rolling hills, toxic-looking pools that had wildlife tracks leading to them, large mounds and jagged cliffs of excavated soil and coal, and machinery left around the site. Overall, a poorly fenced dangerous place. All this in a North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and just 50 metres from someone’s house.

A debt to the local environment in 2021—partly repaid

The complexity of established flora and fauna sacrificed around the UK at sites of opencast coal mining is lost for the long-term, and possibly forever. So-called ‘restoration’ cannot recreate these ecosystems, and doesn’t even attempt to offset the impacts that burning the coal will have on climate change. When we revisited the site of the Halton Lea Gate opencast in June 2021, the toxic-looking pools were gone and the restoration effort was underway with funding from ExWorks, a US credit company, to the tune of £653,422 (less than the fees of the joint administrators so far). ExWorks relationship to the coal mine and HM Project Developments Ltd. isn’t clear. The works began in February 2021, and a chat with an employee on the site confirmed most of the soil had been put back, and the restoration works were expected to be completed by September 2021. Already the impact of simply putting back the soil on the local landscape—though insufficient—was profound and underpins why this baseline must be adhered to for the sake of nearby communities and fauna.

The Halton Lea Gate opencast coal mine—history repeats… unless we do something about it

Before the coal mine in Halton Lea Gate was abandoned, Margam opencast coal mine was abandoned with just £5 million of the £56 million restoration bond in the pot, making for an even poorer quality restoration that remains a scar on the landscape. This is a story repeated across the UK, largely because:

  1. companies are not held to planning agreements which were inadequate to protect local ecosystems anyway.
  2. material climate considerations are unclear in national planning policy.
  3. local communities lack the resources, compared to developers, to input into decision-making on coal mining applications in their area.

Although coaling in the UK will hopefully continue to wind down, we must not repeat the same mistakes as excavation for lithium and other minerals ramps up.

National planning policy must give a clear and strong steer to screen all planning projects for their climate change consequences, not least coal mine applications. And the voices of impacted communities living around the sites of proposed developments must be centred in decision making by Local Planning Authorities, as it represents the main means by which local communities can democratically shape what happens around them. Only then can we prevent history repeating itself, with communities living locally and in the Global South bearing the brunt of climate-trashing projects.

Dongria - gone too soon

Today (10th July 2021) we gather to say goodbye to our friend Dongria Khond, also known as Penny Eastwood. Her life was remarkable in the amount of people she touched, the things she did and the places she protected.

Dongria has been a big force in the environmental movement, especially with her work with others in Treesponsibility in addressing the flooding of the Calder valley. Often her actions were local, but with an eye to the bigger picture.

Treesponsibility was set up by Dongria and others in 1998. Treesponsibility's aims are to educate people about the need for action on climate change, to involve local communities in tree-planting, and to improve our local environment and biodiversity for the benefit of local people and future generations. In recent years Treesponsibility has been focussing attention on tree planting for flood mitigation. The organisation has planting hundreds of thousands of trees across Calderdale.

Demonstration against Drax powerstation 2017. The banners were Dongria's idea

Around 2001 there was a proposal for a new opencast coal mine in the Calderdale and Rossendale watershed, between Bacup and Todmorden in Lancashire and West Yorkshire councils. Dongria was involved in fighting against this application. At a planning hearing she gave evidence of how Treesponsibility had planted trees up Midgelden Dean as part of their project and that this would capture carbon as part of a 25 year project. If the opencast were to start it would make their work to reforest the valley and the wider area irrelevant.

Following the rejection of the application Dongria met with the landowner and told him that although he could appeal the decision that she and others would keep fighting against it and so there was no point. No appeal was lodged.

This is just one example of Dongria's steely determination to make the world a better place.

Coal Caravan 2009 at Lodge Moor opencast, Nottinghamshire. Dongria is holding the banner, front left

In 2009 Dongria was part of an eight woman team who organised The Coal Caravan, a cycle ride between Nottingham and Blyth, touring opencast mines, proposed opencast mining sites, existing and demolished coal power stations. Her involvement ensured that we were well fed and had a support vehicle, thanks Treesponsisbilty, enabling more people to participate. It turned out Dongria couldn't ride a bike. It was Dongria's idea to write and distribute a newspaper to people we spoke to along the way. To introduce ideas about system change and climate change in a format people were used to reading from. It worked much better than I expected it to.

“Me and Dongria often disagreed, and then it would turn out that she was right. Probably more than 9 times out of 10. It was infuriating.” Keith, a close friend and colleague.

Dongria saw the big picture and had a big impact through the campaigns she was involved in and her compassionate, but firm manner.

She is credited with having invented the idea of using super glue to attach oneself to things in direct action, and was known as Super Glue Penny before she changed her name. She was involved in Climate Camps and Reclaim the Power. In 2007 as part of a Plane Stupid action she super glued her hands to the front door of lastminute.com's head quarters, protesting against 'bing flying' Prior to the 2010 Climate camp in Edinburgh at the Royal bank of Scotland changed her name by deed poll to Dongria Khond to highlight the plight of a tribe in India whose sacred mountain was threatened for mining for bauxite.

The tribe had a sophisticated international campaign but Dongria wanted to bring their battle to a European audience. She dressed up smartly walked into the head quarters, got into an office with hands covered in super glue, and glued herself to an important individual and said something like, "I'm Dongria Khond, I'm your accountability agent" explaining to them the issues with Royal Bank of Scotland's involvement with the company and what it needed to do to rectify the situation. The name change ensured that in a court case the name of the affected tribe would be central.

She had planned to keep the name until the campaign was won, showing that the actions of Vedanta affected generations of lives not just rocks and mineral. Later the Dongria Kondh tribe inspired millions when they won a 'David and Goliath' battle against mining giant Vedanta Resources, an Anglo-Indian multinational. The tribe vowed to save their Niyamgiri Hills and their self-sufficient way of life.

More recently Dongria was a force in the Ban the Burn campaign. She invented the name and worked alongside many other great individuals.

Ban the Burn targets the Walshaw moor estate, which is owned by a man called Richard Bannister. When Richard Bannister bought the estate it was used for grouse shooting which he intensified. He carried out lots of unapproved changes to the land, for example he built tracks, failed to respect laws on driving over peat, drained the land and burned large areas of heather. Shooting estates burn heather to provide food and shelter for the grouse, the process damages the peat, an important carbon sink, the peat is also drained. See more here.

In 2012 Natural England were taking the estate to court over 45 breaches of environmental legislation, although more were suspected. Before the case was completed at court, Natural England dropped the charges and paid the estate around £4M of public money including paying the estates legal fees.

Why did this happen? It appears that the Minister for the Environment, Richard Benyon, who owns lots of moors where grouse shooting happens, knew that if the prosecutions against the Walshaw estate had been successful the case would have set a new precedent about how these moors are managed across the UK. It is thought that Benyon got Natural England to drop charges and Walshaw to continue its inappropriate management.

Amongst other activities Dongria organised a tour for 94 people onto Walshaw moor. There she talked about the ecology and mismanagement and importance of peat moorland in relation to climate change.

The campaign has had some success in raising awareness of the ecological damaged caused by grouse shooting estates and this has resulted in some policy changes but all are too slow, with existing agreements being allowed to be carried out before change happens and with exemptions of the Walshaw Moor estate.

The case had wider implications, everyone knew that Walshaw was a test case. You can read George Monbiot's guardian article, and Mark Avery’s excellent book 'Inglorious - conflict in the uplands.'

Ban the burn is still an active campaign. The RSPB made a formal complaint to the European Commission about Natural England’s allowing of damaging actions at Walshaw and giving consent for burning on other areas of blanket bog that should be protected. The RSPB still has concerns about the way Natural England is dealing with peat moorland.

Dongria was like a dark fairy she wore black and dark grey with long grey hair. She told the truth, and the truth is often quite dark. This is what we are facing. There was something magical and fairy like about her presence.

Although Dongria was amazing, she - like all of us - couldn't do it on her own. With her passing we need to celebrate our life. We encourage you to look at the Dongria Khond tribe, look to the local things we can do which have impacts on a global arena. We need to find our inner Dongria and step up. Her dying isn't the end, our fight continues.

#StopAdani Power Hour

Recently, there has been so much progress, and many victories in the fight to stop the insurance of climate-destroying projects. Only last month, Lloyd’s of London insurer Ascot ruled out renewing their policy for the Adani coal mine once it expires in September after months of pressure. This shows us that the pressure is working. With Adani looking to renew its insurance soon, we need to make sure the last few insurers rule out insuring this mega mine.

At Coal Action Network, we’re determined to keep this momentum up. We’ve organised three Power Hours scheduled in the upcoming weeks, aiming to connect people within the movement, create a space for learning new skills, and take action that we know works. We’ll be targeting Hamilton, one of the last syndicates at Lloyd’s of London still willing to insure the coal mine.

If we’re going to win big and avoid climate breakdown, we need to learn from each other's experiences and knowledge. We’re excited to be joined at these Power Hours by Australian activists from the #StopAdani movement, who have a track record of successfully convincing insurance companies to rule out the Adani Carmichael project. Together, we’ll take action to pile the pressure onto Hamilton - let’s stop Adani in its tracks.

Learn more, and RSVP to one (or more!) of the Power Hours:

Indigenous Leaders in Permanent Assembly Against Coal

Through the Wayuu-led NGO Nación Wayuu, indigenous Wayuu elders and community leaders are gathering in a 'Permanent Assembly' - an ongoing dialogue, which can involve peaceful action to demand justice from the coal company Cerrejón, which operates Latin America's biggest coal mine in the northernmost state of Colombia, La Guajira.

This is a powerful step by communities next to the railway line where open-top carriages take coal across the state to the port. They were not included in the recent UN investigation but also suffer devestating impacts.

Cerrejón is owned by three mining multinationals who are all listed on the London Stock Exchange: Anglo American, Glencore, and BHP. They have recently been ordered to stop expanding the mine and as a result Anglo American and Glencore are now suing the Colombian Government.

PRESS RELEASE by NACIÓN WAYUU

(English Translation. Spanish here)

According to their legal and constitutional rights, the Traditional Authorities of the Indigenous Wayuu Movement (located in the municipalities of Maicao, are Manaure and Uribia, ancestral guardians of the territories which have been robbed and desecrated by the train track belonging to Cerrejón Limited) inform the national and international public that from 1st June 2021 they will declare a PERMANENT ASSEMBLY* for the following reasons:

For more than 40 years, the indigenous territories located in the municipality of Albania, Maicao, Manaure and Uribia, were desecrated and divided by the construction of the train line belonging to the Cerrejón company, which gave passage to an immense iron-clad long-tailed animal: a train.

The passage of this immense animal changed the lives of the Wayuu people, who now are feeling death which initially came to them slowly, and now is gathering pace. The most affected are women and children, but also the workers who go to the mine.

The situation is so critical that recently, the UN urged the mine to suspend operations in the municipality of Barrancas, near to the Wayuu reservation of Provincial, for reasons of pollution, water scarcity, and the prevention of transmission of Covid-19 in the communities who live there.

The UN High Commission in Human Rights urged the suspension of some of Cerrejón's opencast coal mine operations, located in La Guajira, Northern Colombia.

UN experts insisted the pollution that the mine produced has caused serious damage to the health of the indigenous Wayuu community who reside in this region, bordering on Venezuela.

David Boyd, UN special rapporteur for Human Rights and the Environment, said “at least during the pandemic, the operations in the Tajo Patilla site near to the Provincial reservation should be suspended until they can demonstrate that it is safe.”

He added that the Cerrejón mine had not done enough to comply with the orders of the Colombian authorities, which in December demanded the company improve air quality and limit the damage to the area's inhabitants.

According to UN commission experts, the residents suffer headaches, breathing and nasal problems, dry coughs, burning eyes and blurred vision as a consequence of the exploitation of the Cerrejón mine.

The pollution produced by Cerrejón does not only affect the communities near to the Tajo Patilla or the Provincial reservation, but also the indigenous communities, ancestral guardians of the territories located along the length of the train line and the banks of the Rancheria River. In this second wave of infections in this pandemic that threatens to exterminate humanity, these communities have been seriously affected, leaving countless people dead and many more infected, but this does not matter to the Cerrejon company, who continue their mining operation regardless.

It has been five years since the sentence was handed down which ordered urgent action to benefit the indigenous people of La Guajira, but this judicial order has not been followed through.

The justice system has placed at least 17 sanctions on Cerrejón Coal Limited for the effects that opencast coal mining has brought to the indigenous Wayuu people who live in the immediate vicinity of the mine in La Guajira. The last decision was handed down by the Constitutional Court on 13th December 2016, which included an order to compensate indigenous Wayuu communities for the severe environmental, social and cultural damage, but to this day they have offered nothing but a half-hearted semblance of compliance with this sentence.

As ancestral guardians of territory exploited by the company Cerrejón, we demand the following:

1. Suspend the train operation which transports coal to Puerto Bolivar at the weekends for 24 hours each day (Saturday and Sunday)
2. Urgently reinitiate dialogues which were unilaterally suspended by Cerrejón under the false pretext of the pandemic.
3. Comply strictly with the Constitutional Court order T-704/16

This communication is signed on 1st June 2021 by the Traditional Wayuu authorities, ancestral guardians of this territory.

*Language note: Permanent Assembly refers to an ongoing or recurring gathering to protest and/or engage in dialogue to further a campaign

Get Involved

We will be taking actions in solidarity with Nación Wayuu, and the affected communities. To be involved in this, and other, actions against coal, sign up to our mailing list.

You can read more about Cerrejón's devestating impact on communities in the region in this recent UN report. London Mining Network has a lot of information about communities fighting back against the mine.

Lloyd's Feeling the Pressure over Coal

As they reopened after lockdown, Lloyd's of London and companies involved in their marketplace opened their offices to find local people demanding that they rule out insuring the West Cumbria and Adani coal mines immediately.

It was a great day with actions in 13 locations across the UK. This was the first time that the regional offices of insurance companies have faced coordinated action demanding action on climate change. We stood in solidarity with the communities campaigning gainst the Adani and West Cumbria coal mines.

Helen from Gateshead said: We all have a responsibility to care for our planet and that’s why we’re here today. To show that we need to say no to fossil fuels, to turn our backs on coal. And that’s why we’re calling on Lloyd’s of London to stop insuring all coal mines around the world now.

Zoe, a 50 year old Mum and small business owner from Warrington said “I took part in this local action to be part of giving a bigger national message to Lloyd’s of London, that in 2021 with the planet on fire, it is no longer OK to be insuring fossil fuel projects. Insurance seems such a dry and mundane thing, but when you realise it is crucial to any coal, oil or gas extraction going ahead, then you realise what power these people have. They can literally decide to turn off the emissions tap if they wished to! That means they hold the power of life or death – over many millions, if not billions of people, in the keystrokes of their keyboard, or the flurry of their pen. Imagine having that much potential to do the right thing – they could literally be the world’s greatest climate heros if they chose to be. What a legacy for them to leave their kids…”

 

Chris from Manchester said "We think that insurance companies , by the nature of their business about future risks,  have the resources and motivation to understand the practical implications of the climate emergency and the role fossil fuels play in causing and worsening that emergency. But we don't think they are being open about those risks. We need them to Tell the Truth and my being here demonstrating in Manchester, is part of holding them to account"

We got some great coverage in the insurance press with this journalist calling it how it is!

 

Thanks to everyone who took action on the campaign so far, we are pushing the insurance industry out of coal! This week Adani's biggest contractor revealed it couldn't find an insurance provider that would cover the project 💖

The action we are taking is making a massive difference to keeping the coal in the ground and protecting local communities from mining impacts.

A key to these massive victories has been keeping constant pressure up on the insurance industry. Help keep up the pressure by writing to Lloyd's, and it's 10 biggest insurers to demand they rule out the West Cumbria mine. If you've written before, keep on writing till they rule out the mine.

You can also spread the word by sharing this great video about Lloyd's on Facebook or Twitter

Thanks again for all your brilliant support,