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.
(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
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.
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,
What is the Lloyd’s of London?
Firstly, it’s nothing at all to do with Lloyd’s PLC, the bank – they’re not great either, but that’s another story.
Lloyd’s of London is a large insurance corporation with an HQ in London but trade insurance globally. In its own words, Lloyd’s of London “oversees and supports the Lloyd’s market, ensuring it operates efficiently and retains its reputation as the market of choice for specialist insurance and reinsurance risk.” You can watch Lloyd’s of London’s very corporate video explaining what they do.
What is “Lloyd’s marketplace”?
Insurance companies use Lloyd’s of London’s marketplace much like sellers use eBay’s website. Just as eBay supports bidding between buyers and sellers, so does Lloyd’s of London, employing over 200 brokers to match insurance customers with insurance companies. And just like eBay, Lloyd’s of London offers some form of guarantee for insurance bought via their marketplace, encouraging trades through to be made through it.
What is Lloyd’s of London's connection to Adani and West Cumbria coal mines, and fossil fuels
Lloyd’s of London marketplace is in the top 4 for insuring climate-wrecking fossil fuel projects around the world. Lloyd’s of London’s marketplace is particularly attractive to large fossil fuel projects as Lloyd’s has a reputation for getting high-risk projects insured that other insurance companies won’t touch. One way it does this is by splitting an insurance policy, and spreading the risk, between insurance companies using their marketplace. This amounts to an insurance for climate chaos as it’s only with insurance that companies can take the financial risks to dig new coal mines, build new tar sand pipelines, and explore new gas and oil fields.
Lloyd’s of London has refused to rule out allowing Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in Australia or the West Cumbria coal mine in the UK to obtain insurance via their marketplace. If Adani’s Carmichael coal mine gets insurance and goes ahead, it would open up one of the world’s biggest coal deposits contributing to a climate catastrophe.
What is Lloyd’s of London doing to prevent their contribution to climate change?
Not much, and definitely not enough.
Lloyd’s of London have only committed to a policy of greenwash that is incompatible with our climate crisis, continuing to insure risky projects that no one else will touch. So far Lloyd’s of London has committed to asking insurers operating in their marketplace to stop insuring tar sands, thermal coal mines, and Arctic exploration, phasing this out by 2022. But ‘reinsurance’ for these worst offenders is allowed up until 2030.
This also leaves a huge range of climate-wrecking projects free to continue insuring their risk via Lloyd’s of London marketplace with no policy at all to discourage it. In practice, this means the planned West Cumbria mine could be insured via Lloyd’s of London marketplace as it intends to mine ‘coking coal’, not ‘thermal coal’, although both are eventually burned, producing similar emissions.
What more could Lloyd’s of London marketplace do to prevent their contribution to climate change?
Lloyd’s of London could most simply ban all fossil fuel insurance trading via their marketplace. Their own statement clearly indicates this would be possible; “Lloyd’s publishes minimum standards and monitors compliance with those minimum standards. Lloyd’s by-laws also set out a number of rules with which market participants are required to comply”.
Fossil fuel projects only amount to around 5% of Lloyd’s of London’s marketplace insurance trades, so the company would still have a future without selling out ours.
What would be the impact if Lloyd’s of London ruled out fossil fuel insurance?
Some of the fossil fuel projects would source insurance from other providers and marketplaces, but many using Lloyd’s of London marketplace have failed to secure insurance elsewhere—Lloyd’s of London is sometimes their last chance. Let’s not give it to them.
Insurance providers also look to one another in setting their policies, so if Lloyd’s of London drops fossil fuel insurance, it is likely other insurance traders and providers will too—with a bit of encouragement.
Insurance might not be the sexiest subject, but it is a very vulnerable link in the chain needed to start and continue these huge climate-wrecking projects. It’s time Lloyd’s of London take responsibility for the role its insurance marketplace has in our collective future.
What is an insurance policy?
A contract that a company or individual takes out with an insurer to protect them against specific risks in ways that are agreed and noted in the contract.
What is ‘claims made’ insurance?
Type of insurance policy that will cover insurance claims made whilst the insurance policy is in force – even if the event leading to that insurance claim happened before that insurance policy came into force.
What is ‘claims occurring’ insurance?
Type of insurance policy that will cover insurance claims for events that occurred whilst the insurance policy is in force – even if the claim for it happens after the insurance policy stopped being in force.
No related insurance:
They don't insure coal mines e.g. they just cover travel insurance.
What is ‘run-off’ insurance:
AKA: Not 'live' insurance. Type of insurance policy that comes into effect when a company stops trading. So, any claims made under it will relate to events that happened before the company stopped trading and the policy started. This is used by companies that had ‘claims made’ insurance, and want insurance in case anyone takes action against them after the company for the period of time after they stopped trading but are still liable.
Want to know more?
The last opencast coal mine in England should now have closed, as has East Pit in Neath Port Talbot Wales. This leaves two operating in Wales and none in Scotland.[1]
The existing mines, by company are:
Celtic Energy: Nant Helen, Powys (due to close December 2021)
Merthyr (South Wales): Ffos-y-fran, Merthyr Tydfil (due to close in 2022)
Other former opencast sites are being put back. Banks Group is expected to vacate the Pont Valley, Durham in June 2021.
There are currently no planning applications for new opencast coal mines in the UK after Banks Group had three proposals refused in 2020 thanks to incredible campaigning by local groups.
Drax power station has stopped burning coal after decades of importing coal from the USA, Russia, Colombia and UK mines. Drax has dropped plans to convert the coal units to gas. Much of the wood for its biomass comes from the clear-felling of biodiverse forests in Europe and the Southern USA which are home to many rare and endangered species.
EDF are closing their West Burton coal power station in September 2022. West Burton burns coal from Banks Group’s opencast mines in the North East of England, as well as imported coal.
Kilroot coal and oil power station in Northern Ireland is going to be converted to gas. It has recently been announced that Kilroot will stop consuming coal in September 2023.
At Ratcliffe on Soar power station the owner Uniper plans to turn the power station into an incinerator for household waste and produce heat and electricity. There is no planning permission for this yet. It is the only UK coal power station without an date announced for it to cease using coal.
Coal phase-out in the UK is expected by October 2024. Given that coal consumption in power stations is very low in the summer, the last generation could be April 2024.
There are currently no underground mines operating of significant size.
Proposed Underground Mines
West Cumbria Mining had their proposal for a new underground coking coal mine off Whitehaven, Cumbria called in by the Secretary of State. This means that the council's previous decisions to approve the application will be thoroughly investigated by the Planning Inspectorate in September 2021 before the Secretary of State decides whether the mine will be stopped.
New Age Explorations (an Australian company) are applying for licences for an underground coking coal mine at Lochinvar, on the border between England and Scotland. If constructed the company hopes to be producing coal until 2044.
There are four major UK steel producers:
Tata Steel
Port Talbot steel works, in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, is the second biggest UK single site emitter of carbon dioxide.[2] The plant uses coking coal to make steel in blast furnaces.
Liberty
Liberty Steel, which has sites in Newport and in Tredegar, has said it aims to become a carbon-neutral steel producer by 2030.[3] The site currently uses Electric Arc Furnaces and recycles scrap metal so does not use coking coal.
British Steel
Currently British steel's Scunthorpe plant can use a maximum of 25% to 30% recycled content using Basic Oxygen Steel making.[4] It currently uses coking coal.
Celsa
Celsa's Cardiff steelworks uses 100% recycled scrap steel in its products and so does not need coking coal.[5]
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[1] The Coal Authority, Production and Manpower returns for three month period January to March 2020 and other sources.
[2] Ember, Coal Free Kingdom (13th November 2019) and Drax Group, Enabling a zero carbon, lower cost energy future page 39 (2019)
[3] https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/steel-carbon-emissions-port-talbot-19927484
[4] https://britishsteel.co.uk/who-we-are/sustainability/
Queries and media contact: info @ coalaction . org .uk (without spaces)
Damning new report reveals the indigenous communities torn up by coal imports that continue to power Europe and its steel industry
Today, Tuesday 30th March, Still Burning - a network against hard coal and neocolonialism – releases a new report Still Burning. The report shines a spotlight on Europe's continued coal imports in the run-up to COP26. It also tells the harrowing but little-known stories of the communities from Russia, Colombia, the USA, and Australia whose homes and way of life are literally torn up to mine the coal beneath them, suffering widespread human rights abuses.
Coal production around Europe is falling, but in Russia it’s rising to compensate and to extend the market eastwards.
Some European governments have announced coal power phase-outs, but some like in Germany are so far away (2038) as to be almost meaningless. Even in countries where coal for electricity has been phased out - such as Austria - are consuming coal to make steel. In fact in Austria coal-fired blast furnaces, are the single biggest site emitters of CO2 in the country.
There is an urgent need to stop all coal extraction and decarbonise the electricity and steel making industries.
You can download the report from https://stillburning.net/book/
Still Burning concludes that European utilities and governments must bear more responsibility for the disaster that is unfolding in coal producing regions, and so must act to halt and reverse the damage as well as compensate those impacted.
Our high energy lifestyles are fuelled by coal mines abroad forced on people unfortunate enough to live close to large coal deposits. These people rarely see any of the financial wealth raised from the exports to Europe of coal from under their homes. Instead, they are left with all the local harms and often the worst impacts of climate change.
Continues below...
Russia is the biggest exporter of coal to Europe supplying 41% of the coal imported into the European Union in 2017. 76% of Russia’s coal is mined in Kuzbass – an area in southwest Siberia and most of the coal produced there is shipped to Europe and Asia.
Valentina Bekrinova, a native Shor person living in the village of Chuvashka, Kuzbass, Siberia says, “In front of the house is the Sibirginsky mine. On the other side of the house there is a waste tip from another mine. Our village is surrounded by coal mining, and the dust which blows from the mines and waste heaps coats everything…I’m afraid that Shor people will soon become extinct. This is why the most important thing is the protection of our ecology, our rivers, our taiga for the protection of our nation. We cannot live without [them].”
While the impacts of burning coal in power station on our climate receives some attention the human and local ecological consequences are almost always overlooked. But the consequences are dire:
“I wish that people became more aware of where their coal comes from. And about the consequences” says Luz Angela Uriana Epiayu, mother of Moisés Daniel, a young child who is seriously ill with lung disease living next to the Cerrejón coal mine, owned by foreign interests.
The giant open-pit Cerrejón coal mine in La Guajira, northern Colombia. The mine is the biggest of its kind in the world and is jointly owned by Anglo American, BHP and Glencore. The Cerrejón mine is in Wayúu indigenous territory and when mining began over 30 years ago, local people were not consulted. Instead their lands were seized, and communities were forcibly displaced, violating their constitutional land rights. The Colombian government has failed to adequately compensate any of the affected communities. Pollution and dust from the coal mine has caused the contamination of water supplies and the air.
Narlis Guzmán Angulo a human rights defender from Cesar in Colombia living near the Drummond coal mine says, “In La Sierra we have always been able to feed ourselves with our agriculture, but that is over... Opencast coal mining ruined everything. It has brought us all this: the collapse of the social fabric, unemployment, death, missing persons, displaced persons, political corruption, the loss of the vocation of our ancestors, the loss of our roots, environmental pollution, disease, prostitution, the sexual commercialisation of children, drug addiction, and poisoned water...”.
The answer to these problems is not to open more coal mines in Europe. True solidarity with people at the front-lines of coal extraction means closing all coal mines globally and to move rapidly away from technology which relies on coal and produces vast emissions.
Read the full report https://stillburning.net/book/ and also see films about these issues by Still Burning here.
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:
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, 18th 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 13th 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:
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.