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!

Lloyd’s response to these protests has resembled a rabbit caught in the headlights. These are sophisticated, well-informed groups armed with data and will not back-off. They will play a part in COP26 so Lloyd’s needs start responding with action.

— David Worsfold (@DavidWorsfold) May 24, 2021

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,

Want to know more?

• Money Is the Oxygen on Which the Fire of Global Warming Burns
• Mark Carney warns investors of 'potentially huge' losses from climate change risks
• Stop Adani Adopt an Insurer Action Guide
• Lloyd's of London insure our future report

Why now?

1. ‘Public controversy’ (this is literally your efforts!).
2. The Sixth carbon budget was released in December—this coal mine alone would exceed the sub-allocation for active and old mines. You've since made it impossible for the Council and government to ignore that.
3. Legal challenges (last week West Cumbria Mining Ltd applied for a Judicial Review of the Council’s decision to reconsider the application – a decision that again you helped make happen).

What now?

A public inquiry is a formal process started by a Minister (Robert Jenrick in this case) and run by The Planning Inspectorate where the facts of the case are examined more closely than in a council hearing. We now have another opportunity to expose the falsehoods within justifications for the West Cumbria coal mine and highlight the reasons it must never go ahead. These include:

1. Over 85% of the mined coal would be exported, maybe more with high sulphur concentrations that are too much for the British steel industry – how does ‘domestic demand’ justify that?
2. There’s nothing ‘neutral’ in new coal – it’s time to put that industry myth to bed.
3. Jobs will be limited in time and number, and lower paid compared to what’s possible with investment in skilled green jobs.
4. Approving new coal mines is incompatible with UK’s decarbonisation targets – and the Climate Change Committee has our backs on that.
5. Approving a new coal mine during the same year the UK hosts the G7 and the COP26 summits, and as co-hosts the Powering Past Coal Alliance would signal to other countries they can pay lip-service to their climate change commitments.

As a grassroots supporter group, Coal Action Network will do what we always do, and that’s to fight for front-line communities to get their knowledge and voices heard in spaces like this public inquiry. We’ll keep you updated—but follow-us on Twitter if you use it, we'd like to share things with you there.

Major Lloyd’s of London insurers Brit and Hiscox are the latest firms to rule out insurance for Adani’s controversial Carmichael coal mine project.

Brit was the sixth insurer to stop underwriting risks directly related to or associated with Adani’s Carmichael coal mine project, joining AXA XL, Liberty Mutual, and HDI Talanx, who were insuring the coal mine before ruling out further involvement, and Lloyd’s insurers Apollo and Aspen Re, who committed to stop underwriting the project when active policies expire. Hiscox not only ruled out insuring Adani but brought in policy to stop future insurance for all new coal mines.

Brit and Hiscox’s commitments are major blows to Adani’s disastrous Carmichael coal project. Lloyd’s of London was one of the last places on Earth that Adani could turn to find insurance, and they were one of the largest remaining insurers. Now, Lloyd’s doors are just inches from being closed to Adani, for good.

These announcements came after 750 Coal Action Network supporters flooded the inboxes and phone lines of Brit and Hiscox.  This pressure was in solidarity with the ongoing action taken by the Australian Stop Adani movement. Locals in Coffs Harbour and the Gold Coast (Australia) had been hounding Brit and Hiscox for months and our combined pressured worked. Now we’re uniting the voices of community members in West Cumbria resisting the Woodhouse Colliery and Australian Stop Adani protesters to push Lloyd’s even further. That's why on the 16th March we're holding an online rally to take action together and plan big bold action for 2021.

Liisa from Stop Adani Coffs Harbour describes the campaign: "For months we got no formal response from Brit. We were getting worried – but we kept at it, sharing our stories, adapting our tactics, and trying new things. We were buoyed by conversations with some Brit staff in London, who were also concerned about the Great Barrier Reef, bushfires and the role of coal in fueling these climate impacts.

Our unrelenting phone calls, emails and calendar reminders, combined with the actions of other #StopAdani groups and our allies in UK, made ripples which grew to a wave that Brit could not ignore."

Tonight, 18^th February 2021, marks the final shipment of coal mined from the North East of England. This marks a momentous victory for the years of anti-coal action, most recently the successfully defeated open cast coal mine application in Dewley Hill, near Newcastle.

The heritage of coal exports from the North East of England goes back to the 13^th Century, but it has increasingly become a legacy in decline and with it, levels of deprivation that are also seen in other former-coalfield regions of the UK. The government must do more to ensure there is a just transition from jobs in coal and fossil fuels, to jobs in a genuinely green economy.

Jude Campbell, who campaigned against an application for a new coal mine in Dewley Hill from 2019-2021, says “As a former union rep the prospect of redundancy… does not sit easily with me. However, [coal is] a declining industry and it is grossly irresponsible to promise these workers employment in this industry ad infinitum when coal is on the way out in favour of green technologies”.

So today, at the end of an era, would be an apt landmark for government to ‘level up’ by renewing and acting on their commitment to materially support a sustainable economy in the North East of England.

With the UK’s climate commitments (not least to phase out coal-fired power generation by 2024/5) and the declining contribution of coal to the national grid, this day was inevitable – and critical if the UK is serious about taking action on climate change. Coal remains the single largest emitter of CO2 in the world, out-stripping oil and gas. Without a rapid and drastic reduction in the use of coal, catastrophic climate change is certain.

Tonight, coal from Durham open cast coal mine, operated by Hargreaves, will leave the UK on a ship from Longwave Port of Tyne, most likely to be burned in a power station to produce electricity. This coal mine ceased actively extracting coal in 2020. Now Hargreaves is merely transporting mined coal out of the mine - the last open cast coal mine to do so in the North East after Bradley open cast coal mine in County Durham, operated by Banks’ Group, had its application for extension rejected and closed in August 2020.

“Coal is a proud part of our history in the North East, but it is not our future” – Jos, Newcastle.

Published: 18.02.2021

People across Australia have been fighting for 10 years to stop one on the most devastating mining projects currently being planned on the globe. The Adani coal mine, if it goes ahead, will open up the Galilee basin - one of the biggest untouched coal reserves on the planet - paving the way for at least eight more coal mines to be built. All at a time when scientists are warning we can't build any more fossil fuel infrastructure if we want to avoid catastrophic global heating.

Australia is already the world's number one exporter of coal and these mega-mines would double their current output! If that isn't enough, if built, Adani’s Carmichael mine will:

• Destroy the ancestral lands, waters and cultures of Indigenous people.
• Allow 500 more coal ships to travel through the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area every year for 60 years.
• Get access to 270 billion of Queensland's precious groundwater for 60 years, for free.
• Risk damaging aquifers of the Great Artesian Basin.

People across Australia have been fighting for 10 years to stop one on the most devastating mining projects currently being planned on the globe. Folks in Australia have asked for our help to stop Adani and here's why...

On the front line of the Adani mine standing their ground are the Wangan and Jagalingou people who have never given their free, prior, and informed consent to Adani’s mine and have said "No" to Adani 5 times. Adani has not only stolen their land (with the government's permission) but also bankrupted their spokesperson.

The Wangan and Jagalingou people are joined by others from across Australia standing up to corrupt politicians and the mining giants who own them. Together they have built the biggest climate movement in Australia's history. The Stop Adani movement have made this mine an iconic fight for climate justice - rallying across the country, blocking the train lines leading to Adani's coal port, occupying politicians offices, and building support amongst the majority of Australians for the #StopAdani campaign.

The campaign has been massively successful stopping commercial banks across the world investing in the project, and getting contractors associated with the project to pull out. However, as it stands, this mine will go ahead. That's why they are asking for people in the UK to join them in solidarity to Stop Adani.

Last year documents were leaked showing that Lloyd's of London are insuring the Adani mine. This kicked off a wave of actions targeting the individual insurance companies that make up the Lloyd's marketplace. The majority of the 70+ insurance companies involved have committed to not reinsure Adani. The 13 left are holding out and are getting so used to hearing Australian accents on the phone that they just hang up when they hear them.

The Stop Adani movement have asked people in the UK to join them and help get these last few insurers to rule out the project. If the coal mine can't get insured then it can't operate.

TAKE ACTION - You can get involved by contacting Lloyd's of London and asking them to rule out the project.

Today [8th February 2021], youth climate activists added their voice against the planned coking coal mine in West Cumbria. Elijah McKenzie-Jackson submitted a 111,475 signature petition to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government asking Robert Jenrick MP to stop the planned coal mine. The petition was delivered by post and supported by a digital demonstration of 72 young activists.

Elijah says, “In the year where the UK hosts the COP26 summit the UK government must call in and refuse an application to mine coking coal, showing its commitment to decarbonising the steel sector.”

Despite being a contentious issue for several years was Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said that he would allow the Cumbria County Council planning approval to stand. He said the matter was a ‘local issue’. In reality, the emissions equal 2% of the UK's carbon footprint, which makes it a decision of national importance. This petition and digital protest calls on him to change his mind and save face in the year the UK hosts both the Conference of Parties 26 (COP26) counter climate change summit and meeting of the G7 nations.

In West Cumbria Mining Ltd.’s proposal, the new coal mine would produce nearly three million tonnes of coking coal a year and result in nine million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions every year. Despite this, West Cumbria Mining Ltd. convinced Cumbria County Council that this mine would be carbon neutral.

As Economist Professor Paul Ekins of University College London explains in a video by the Coal Action Network the idea this mine would be carbon neutral as “nonsense”. He explains, “The notion that opening new coal mines in England will not lead to increasing greenhouse gas emissions is quite simply, economic nonsense and here's why. Opening a new coal mine does not mean that other coal mines will produce less coal or close. It simply means that there will be more coal dug up, looking for markets and the markets will expand to accommodate it. That is the story of coal since the industrial revolution.”

The mine would supply ‘coking’ coal to steel works, at least 85% of which would be exported to Europe as it is too high in sulphur to be burnt in large quantities in the two large UK steel works, in Port Talbot and Scunthorpe which use coking coal. Unless it’s left in the ground, the coal will contribute to climate change, the burden of which will fall disproportionately on young people, especially those living in the Global South. Their voice must be heard in this debate.

18 year old Jahnavee Palsodkar said, "I am from India which is considered to be in both the global south and most affected people and areas (MAPA) and I wanted to show that the UK is sending the wrong signal to the rest of the world in approving this coking coal mine. By doing this, they are contradicting themselves while they plan to host the COP 26 in November. Concrete climate policy is shown through action, not words.

The emissions it will cause will lead to the climate crisis increasing worldwide. The decision makers are disregarding the plight of the MAPA due to the menace of climate change. It is extremely inhumane to advocate for a project that will devastate the life of so many from the global south.

I started advocating for climate justice because I saw that it is affecting the world disproportionately. The global south are already facing the major brunt of climate crisis caused mostly by the global north, such as European countries and the US. In this situation, it is the Global North's moral responsibility to minimise their carbon emissions and consumption so as to ease the suffering of their brethren across the earth. And it is my responsibility to do my best to advocate for the same."

These young people are adding their voices to that of eminent scientist James Hansen, Lord Deben, Chairman of the Climate Change Committee, teen climate activist Greta Thunberg and over 80 NGOs so far who have called on the government to call in this decision, start a public inquiry and reject the application.

Isabella Bridgman from Cockermouth in Cumbria says, I call on the Secretary of State to call in this mine, in recognition that approving such a mine when the UK is set to host COP26 this year, and has committed to reach carbon neutral by 2050, is not only ridiculous, but actively harmful. West Cumbria deserves better than a polluting mine whose existence is unsustainable in the long term due to the UK governments commitment to reaching net-zero carbon by 2050.

Hannah Wright (16) from Kendal, Cumbria said “The decision to build a coal mine doesn’t make sense for two reasons. Firstly, this decision shouldn’t just be for the local government to make, as the impact of the coal mine won’t just affect Cumbria, a decision of this scale and impact should be made on a national level. Secondly it doesn’t make sense that by 2035 the UK will stop using coal for steel making to meet its climate targets, meaning the coal mine in Cumbria will only be short term. So why not invest in a new source of green energy which will help to generate jobs and be both sustainable environmentally and economically?"

Until Cumbria County Council formally approves the mine, Robert Jenrick can reverse his previous decision not to call in the application for government arbitration. In the year the UK hosts COP26 and the G7 decisions like this could have global consequences.

Thanks to everyone who helped, this action was a success and resulted in this coverage, ‘Coal is not the goal’: Teenage climate activists deliver petition to government over Cumbria coal mine

Opposition is growing to a plan for a massive underground coking coal mine under the sea near Whitehaven, in the north west of England. Cumbria County Council gave permission for the mine to extract nearly 3 million tonnes of coal until 2049. The coal is mostly for export and is ‘coking’ coal that would be consumed by the carbon-intensive steel industry. [1] Despite this, the mining company claim the coal mined would be ‘carbon neutral’.., and the Council believed them! Mining new coal can never be carbon neutral of course, but if there’s any doubt, here’s an expert explaining why. We're angry that the government is failing to stop this coal mine, not least in the same year that it hosts the COP26 global climate summit. The government can still stop this mine.
Thanks to everyone who sent us photos are part of this process. We are going to be putting them into a film and releasing them to the media and on social media soon. Watch this space!

For those who sent us photos, you agreed that: By sending us a photo, you and your parent/guardian agree for us to use the photo in the video described, on our website and social media, and to share with third-party video producers and media. You also understand that you may be identifiable from the photo and the photo may be used in related campaigns in the future. We won't publish your name unless it’s in your image, or we ask you first. If you change your mind later, we can delete your photo but we cannot remove it where others have saved it/shared it.

Many thanks,

Anne Harris and the team at Coal Action Network

References

[1] Cumbria County Council Executive Director - Economy and Infrastructure, Development

control and regulation committee Application Reference No:4/17/90077.17 (2 October 2020)

[2] Ember, Europe’s coal power collapse exposes steel plants as Europe’s biggest emitters (2019) https://ember-climate.org/project/ets-2019-release/