Today we delivered Coedie's message and thousands others from around the world in the form of 6ft tall talking valentines cards, to all three of Probitas 1492's UK offices: Lloyds of London, Lime Street (London), and Manchester.
We want to make sure they can't ignore indigenous communities, and people all over the planet who will be impacted by this climate bomb. Check out some pictures from our action, your messages, and how to get involved in keeping the pressure on Probitas.
Printed inside the card: a lot of love for the planet and for the community resistance - not a lot of love for Probitas.
We need to show Probitas that the global movement against Adani won’t let them get away with their involvement. Will you join us and ramp up the pressure we’re placing on them?
We're asking our supporters to sign up to take regular action, emailing staff at Probitas over their companies role in enabling this carbon bomb. We'll be sending you new contact details at every few days – no two people will be receiving the same staff to contact. This tactic means that together we can contact more staff, and be as effective as possible in turning up the heat. Let's convince them to stop insuring climate breakdown.
As always, we'll be providing you with example emails to use & help along the way.
When we’ve taken action together, the #StopAdani movement has won against insurers and brokers again and again - now the industry knows it's one of the most controversial projects in the world. We need to make sure this climate-wrecking project has nowhere left to go.
Let’s make sure Probitas knows what it’s getting into: send your message today.
We’re bringing the award winning FINITE: The Climate of Change to a cinemas near you!
FINITE: The Climate of Change, features the Campaign to Protect Pont Valley in England and the occupation of the Hambacher forest in Germany. It reveals the relentless campaigning, direct action and creative protest, concerned people took to stop further destruction in both locations. The film shows scenes similar those of the 35,000 people taking action against RWE’s destruction of the village of Lützerath, Germany, earlier this year.
We're holding question and answer sessions on how you can get involved in current anti-coal battles after each of the screenings listed below.
The film is not yet available online, so head down to one of our events in the next couple of months to watch it with us. Bookings not necessary unless noted below, just come on the day.
Want to know more about the campaign in the Pont Valley – check out our blog ‘Coal is finite, but we are relentless’ for the background.
See you at a screening, full listings below.
Thursday 6th July 6.30pm food, 8pm film Cloudwater Brewery Taproom Manchester - RSVP at https://finitetheclimateofchange.splashthat.com/ hosted by Patatonia
For more screenings, without Coal Action Network's attendance see https://www.finite-film.com/screenings
Get in touch if you'd like to show Finite: the climate of change in a cinema near you!
Wednesday 15th February Dukes cinema, Lancaster followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and Coal Action Network
Thursday 16th February Dukes cinema, Lancaster
Friday 17th February Alhambra Cinema, Keswick followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and Coal Action Network
Tuesday 21st February Cameo, Edinburgh followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and guests
Thursday 23rd February Rio Cinema, East London
Sunday 26th February Gate Notting Hill, West London followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and guests
Monday 27th February Cinema City, Norwich followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and Coal Action Network
Tuesday 28th February Electric Cinema, Birmingham followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and guests
Wednesday 1st March Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and Coal Action Network
Sunday 5th March Hackney Picturehouse, East London
Monday 6th March Harbour Lights, Southampton followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and Coal Action Network
Wednesday 8th March Crouch End, North London followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and guests
Wednesday 8th March , Glasgow (no Q&A)
Thursday 9th March Doors from 5.30-6.15pm Patagonia Store, Bristol. Now Fully Booked. Followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and Coal Action Network. (Please get in touch if you'd like to help arrange another Bristol screening)
Friday 10th March Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and guests
Monday 13th March Bertha DocHouse, Central London followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and guests
Tuesday 14th March Volcano Theatre, Swansea followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and Coal Action Network
Wednesday 15th March Chiswick Cinema, West London (tickets coming soon) followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and guests
Thursday 16th March Space4, London Finsbury Park followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and guests
Monday 20th March Picturehouse Central, Central London followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and guests
Tuesday 21st March Little Theatre, Bath followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and Coal Action Network
Wednesday 22nd March Duke's at Komedia, Brighton followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and Coal Action Network
Thursday 23rd March Regal, Henley
Saturday 25th March Showroom, Sheffield followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate
Sunday 26th March City Screen, York
Monday 27th March Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and guests
Tuesday 28th March Phoenix Picturehouse, Oxford followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and guests
Wednesday 29th March FACT, Liverpool followed by Q&A with film maker Rich Felgate and guests
Wednesday 19th April 6pm. Taj Mahal Community HWB Machynlleth Hosted by Climate Camp Cymru 2024 Tickets free/by donation on the door, join us for soup before the film.
Wednesday 3rd May 7.45pm Alhambra Cinema Penrith
Friday 19th May 7pm Taliesin Arts Centre Swansea
Sunday 2nd June 7pm The Stove Network and Cafe (100 High St, Dumfries DG1 2BJ) Dumfries (Free screening)
Sunday 11th June 7pm Kirkgate Arts Centre Cockermouth hosted by XR North Lakes and West Cumbria & North Lakes FoE
In December 2022, the UK government approved a 2.78 million tonne a year coking coal mine proposed for Whitehaven, Cumbria. South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC) has started proceedings for a Statutory Review of this decision. At the same time, Friends of the Earth have also filed a legal challenge. This article looks at the grounds for these legal challenges.
While there are at least 11 arguments why the decision is wrong, only the process behind arriving at the decision can be challenged at a Statutory Review, rather than the decision itself.
Below are the 4 grounds that Richard Buxton Solicitors is challenging on behalf of SLACC, followed be the 4 grounds of Friends of the Earth’s case. A public inquiry was held in 2021, run by a Planning Inspector. After it finished, the Planning Inspector wrote up his recommendation to the UK Government in his report. The Secretary of State based his decision to approve the Whitehaven coal mine on this Inspector’s Report.
Ground 1 – error of law and/ or failure to give understandable reasons concerning substitution.
The Inspector’s report assumes there will be “some degree of substitution” between coal mined abroad, likely from the USA, and coal from Whitehaven. Unless the substitution would be 100%, as in exactly the same amount of coal extracted from Cumbria would be left underground in a permitted mine elsewhere, the mine would still result in increased global emissions. Substitution won't be anywhere near 100%, as the owners of mines elsewhere will simply sell the coal to different steelworks. The Secretary of State decided on an “overall neutral effect on climate change”, despite the increase in emissions.
Ground 2 – error of law in discounting the international impacts of allowing this mine.
Sir Robert Watson, former chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, gave evidence that many other countries will follow suit and approve fossil fuel projects as a result of this decision. A rare letter from Lord Deben from the Climate Change Committee concurred, the decision “gives a negative impression of the UK’s climate priorities in the year of COP26.”
The UK’s international climate reputation was a key reason that the government called in the decision, rather than allowing Cumbria County Council to make it. The Inspector’s report completely fails to deal with both sets of evidence related to this central controversial issue.
Ground 3 – errors of law concerning whether ‘downstream emissions’ caused by the coking coal were indirect significant environment effects of the proposal.
The Inspector concluded that downstream emissions - those resulting in the use of the coking coal, rather than its extraction - “cannot reasonably be regarded as indirect significant effects of the proposed development.” This is incorrect understanding of the law because of the above substitution error – as other coal will not be 100% substituted for mining reduction elsewhere, but also a misunderstanding of the implications of a cited court case (Finch). Without this coal being mined, it wouldn’t be burnt and so there would be significantly fewer downstream emissions.
Ground 4 – unlawful disparity of treatment of the parties and error concerning the approach to the burden of proof.
The Inspector applied different standards to the parties throughout the inquiry. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), paragraph 217, imposes a high threshold of evidence as to the benefits of a coal mine on the applicant rather than those opposing it. The Inspector seemed to do the opposite, imposing a higher threshold upon testimonies against the coal mine development. This might have influenced how the Government later interpreted the testimonies through the Inspector's report.
Ground 1: Approach to considering the effect of the development on the UK’s Sixth Carbon Budget.
The impact of the mine on the UK’s Sixth Carbon Budget, which covers the years 2033 to 2037, was a key issue in the Public Inquiry.
The mining company had entered a legal agreement requiring it to buy international carbon offset credits to offset residual emissions from the mine. In the decision letter the Secretary of State concluded that this requirement meant the mine would be net-zero for the purposes of the Sixth Carbon Budget. That conclusion was wrong and unlawful. Such offset credits do not count towards the UK’s carbon budgets.
Ground 2: Approach to considering the international impacts of the decision.
Similar to SLACC’s Ground 2 reasoning.
Ground 3: Approach to ‘substitution’ of WCM coal and the global coal market.
Similar to SLACC’s Ground 1 reasoning.
Ground 4: Earlier court case (Finch) and downstream emissions.
The Secretary of State’s reasoning closely follows the judgment of the Court of Appeal in the case of R (Finch) v Surrey County Council, both in terms of whether downstream emissions should have been the subject of environmental assessment, and in terms of the case-by-case assessment of their materiality. It is argued that this is a misinterpretation of the judgement, similar to SLACC’s Ground 3.
As both legal challenges base one of their grounds on the R (Finch) v Surrey County Council court case, and which is subject to a Supreme Court decision going to court in June, it is expected that the challenges against the coal mine will be delayed until after the R (Finch) v Surrey County Council court case is heard. Once a single day hearing has happened, a decision will be given as to whether or not the government has to remake the decision on the Whitehaven case.
The full documents can be read on SLACC’s website https://slacc.org.uk/cumbria-coal-mine/
More details on the challenge by Friends of the Earth are available at https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/legal-challenge-filed-over-cumbrian-coal-mine
In September 2022, Ffos-y-fran opencast coal mine's 15-year planning permission ran out and the coal mine was due to close and restoration begin. However, Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd applied for a S73 time extension to mine coal at the site for a 9 months, with an intention to submit a further application for a 3-year expansion.
But this climate calamity can't go ahead! Today, Thursday 12th January, Chris and Alyson, who live close to the Ffos-y-fran coal mine, delivered our petition of over 20,000 signatures to the Welsh Government's The Planning and Environment Decisions Wales. The petition demands that the Welsh Government:
Find out more about how the Ffos-y-fran coal mine has managed to illegally siphon coal out for 16 months without being stopped.
06 September 2022 - 08 January 2024
Coal sold: 64o,000 tonnes (company-reported volumes published in official Coal Authority statistics)
CO2 from coal use: 2.02 million tonnes of CO2 (2022 BEIS Conversion Factors)
Methane from the mine itself: 2,900 tonnes (Global Energy Monitor)
CO2e from the mine itself: 931,000 tonnes in 2021 (reported by the company on p4 (7) for machinery, electricity, and gas combustion)
Coal operator: Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd – formerly Miller Argent Holdings Limited, subsidiary of Merthyr Holdings Limited – which is owned by Gwent Investments Limited
Parent company: Gwent Holdings Limited, owned by Mrs J H Lewis
Type: Thermal coal, some of which is ‘upgraded’ to be sold to steelworks
Mining method: Opencast
Claimed destination: steelworks, domestic heating, cement production etc.
Local Planning Authority: Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council
Address: Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme, East Of Merthyr Tydfil CF48 4AE
Time: 15 years, then a further 16 months illegally
Published: 17/08/2022 Updated: 25/01/2024
On Wednesday (21/12/2022) a gang of Santas delivered sacks of ‘naughty list coal’ to Michael Gove at his Department of Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities office in Whitehall on behalf of Coal Action Network and Lush cosmetics. Holding signs reading “Christmas coal for climate criminal Gove ”, and “No new coal”, the festive action was in protest against the recent Whitehaven coal mine approval.
Since Gove announced his approval of the Whitehaven coal mine application on 7th December, he has been heavily criticised by members of his own party, the Government’s own Climate Change Committee, industry leaders, and environmental groups. Over the original coal mine timeline, the coal operator would mine 64 million tonnes of coal, resulting in 200 million tonnes of CO2, and 340 thousand tonnes of potent climate change accelerant, methane.
Gove’s 15-page letter outlining his reasons for approving the Whitehaven coal mine has already been left in tatters by steel industry leaders who have said British Steelworks can’t rely on Whitehaven coal as it’s too high in polluting sulphur. Gove’s justification was dealt another blow when Owen Hewlett, the chief technical officer of Gold Standard offsetting, called the idea of making the coal mine carbon-neutral through Gold Standard offsetting “obviously nonsense, morally nonsense and technically insane”.
Coal Action Network said “We’re here because Santa knows who’s been naughty and nice, and Gove’s top of the naughty list for approving the Whitehaven coal mine. If more coal mines are really Gove’s only levelling up offer, Santa’s got a message for him this Christmas: climate change only levels down. It’s a dead-end industry distracting from the levelling up potential of jobs with a future.”
Lush campaigns manager Andrew Butler says, “Lush will be Santa for lots of people this Christmas and while we usually provide nice presents, Gove is firmly on our naughty list. But to say Gove has been naughty is a gross understatement. His reckless decision to approve a new coal mine in West Cumbria puts us all on the path to climate catastrophe and makes extreme weather like the floods that displaced tens of millions of people in Pakistan more likely. Gove is not just naughty, he is a climate criminal.”
In a joint statement Coal Action Network and Lush Santas say, “We must remember that individuals are making these decisions that cost us billions, our quality of life, and our very future. Where is the individual accountability for that? Families are freezing in their homes this winter because someone in Government effectively stopped the home insulation programme around a decade ago. Instead of holding that person responsible and reversing that damage, Gove approves a coal mine for a steel industry that doesn’t want it, derailing our climate promises. Santa is all about individual accountability and doesn’t care if someone hides behind a Ministerial title—so these sacks of ‘coal’ are delivered to Michael Gove personally this Xmas.”
Four insurers ruled out EACOP in the past two weeks due to pressure from activists and engagement with campaigners, with Canopius the latest to distance itself from the mega-pipeline
A statement from Canopius followed the hand delivery of a letter from Money Rebellion, urging them to rule out the controversial project. Lee Jones, Head of Marketing and Communications at Canopius said: “Canopius can confirm that we have no involvement, or plans to be involved with the insurance of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.”
The East Africa Crude Oil pipeline, or EACOP is a 1,443 kilometre pipeline planned for Uganda and Tanzania. It threatens to displace thousands of families and farmers from their land, severely degrade critical water resources and wetlands in both Uganda and Tanzania, and rip through numerous sensitive biodiversity hotspots. The oil transported via the pipeline would generate 34 million tons of carbon emissions each year. Local resistance against the project has been ongoing since 2017 as an international Stop EACOP campaign has led advocacy since 2020.
Activists pointed to insurers who have been contacted but are yet to rule out the project, including Brit, Chaucer and Tokio Marine Kiln, Chubb, Liberty Mutual and AIG, as the next targets. All have syndicates within the Lloyd’s of London marketplace which has been criticised over its lack of robust exclusions on fossil fuels.
Further companies with syndicates in the Lloyds marketplace yet to respond to the request for information about their involvement in EACOP include Cincinnati Global and Lancashire Syndicates.
This week, the Extinction Rebellion group, Money Rebellion, will hand-deliver letters to Brit, Chaucer, Tokio Marine Kiln and Chubb, encouraging them to rule out the controversial scheme.
Hundreds of activists from around the world have joined an online platform supporting them to contact insurers and make a case for staying away from EACOP by exposing the numerous climate, environmental, social risks and human rights violations associated with the project. Coal Action Network estimates that by Tuesday morning around two thousand emails will have been received by staff at Brit and Chaucer.
Last week the East African regional insurer Britam ruled out the project in response to a complaint that it did not meet the IFC (International Finance Consortium) Performance Standards. Arch and AEGIS, both Lloyds of London syndicates also ruled out involvement.
Samuel Okulony, of Ugandan organisation and #StopEACOP partner Environment Governance Institute (EGI), said, "Supporting projects that are marred by human rights violations, environmental degradation, and the destruction of our country's natural heritage is unacceptable. While some reinsurers and banks have abandoned the EACOP project due to its disastrous nature, we continue to urge those who are still considering it to refrain from being complicit and to withdraw financial support."
Isobel Tarr of Coal Action Network added, “Because the project can’t be fully insured in-country, global insurance broker Marsh is seeking insurance for EACOP on the international market. Lloyds of London is top of the list, and all the companies the #StopEACOP campaign is targeting syndicates there. If Lloyd’s brought in robust exclusions on fossil fuels then their syndicates wouldn’t be subject to such pressure from campaigners on projects like EACOP.”
EACOP has been condemned by the European parliament for its associated human rights abuses in Uganda and Tanzania with arrests and indefinite detention of peaceful protestors taking place in October, forcing other insurers to distance themselves. The pipeline and associated Tilenga oil field are expected to displace almost 118,000 people in Uganda and Tanzania. And nearly a third of the pipeline would be built in the Lake Victoria Basin, on which more than 40 million people depend for their water and food production and where an oil spill would be disastrous.
The UK Government has produced a 15 page letter plus appendices which outlines the reasons for granting permission to the Whitehaven coal mine application (Ref: 4/17/9007). This is mostly in the form of highlighting points on which Michael Gove agrees with the Planning Inspector , Stephen Normington, who also recommended granting permission for the application.
We have criticisms of each argument and are left wondering who’s interests really underpin Gove’s shock decision to approve the coal mine...
Tata steelworks in Port Talbot has publicly called on the UK Government to co-fund its transition to Electric Arc Furnace steel production which uses little or no coal—or it has warned it’ll shut down in 2023. Tata is the largest steelworks in the UK.
British steel industry chiefs have further said that British and European steelworks will be largely unable to use Whitehaven coal as it is too high in sulphur.
This involves some mental gymnastics, but essentially—it’s based on flawed reasoning that because West Cumbria Coal Mining Ltd can’t control how steelworks use the coal, it isn’t responsible for the resulting emissions. If end-use emissions can’t be a reason to refuse the coal mine, neither can end-use be a reason to approve the coal mine, yet end-use is precisely the basis for the coal mine’s approval.
This absurdity is based on coal industry testimony referring to supposed ‘swing suppliers’ of coal in the USA. Not only is this potentially biased and based on one country, it also wasn’t demonstrated that the market it responsive enough to reduce supply with Whitehaven’s production. Yet, Gove’s claim that emissions won’t increase is based on substitution that largely relies on this unsubstantiated testimony. It also rest on the notion that ‘if we don’t do it, someone else will’—an approach if everyone took, would mean no one would ever take action to reduce emissions and large parts of the world would become uninhabitable.
Gove’s letter is careful not to say the coal mine will be net-CO2 neutral, only that it’ll seek to be—because, like all greenwash, it’s quickly shown to be empty promises to justify climate-trashing business as normal. Issues with off-setting aside, the off-setting scheme the coal mine cited in its application publicly rejected working with a coal mine soon after, and the head of Offsetting Gold Standard called the idea of offsetting a coal mine “nonsense”. Whitehaven coal mine will emit 340,000 tonnes of climate accelerating methane, only some of which is intended to be captured, and even the coal operator admits this will only start 4 years into the project.
Given the weakness of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and despite the billions pumped into its research and promotion so far, the only way to achieve steelworks decarbonisation will be removing coking coal from steelmaking. CCS has done little more than to continue business-as-normal by gambling on a largely unproven, expensive, energy-intensive technology that may create a future time-bomb and is yet to capture 100% of emissions anywhere.
Gove admits that the Coast-to-Coast pathway that beings in Whitehaven will be significantly and negatively impacted by the coal mine structures. This pathway draws tourism to the area.
Gove’s conclusion that tourism won’t be significantly reduced seems incompatible with admitting the coal mine would have a significantly negative effect on the leading draw for tourism to the area, the Coast-to-Coast pathway.
Arguments for the economic benefits to the area from the coal mine does not consider the costs to the economy from climate change, reduced tourism, and the distraction this creates from supporting sustainable industries creating jobs for the future. It is also based on assumptions such as workers relocating rather than commuting for work at the coal mine.
It’s recognised that the landscape impact from above-ground structures is unacceptable. Yet, without any details, this ‘unacceptable impact’ is somehow quantified into a price, and that is weighed as worth less than the supposed economic benefit of the coal mine. This isn’t a technical decision—it is wholly subjective about what we consider the environment to be worth.
The subject of recent research by Coal Action Network, the UK is littered with under-restored or unrestored coal mines—right now, Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd is threatening to walk away from the UK’s largest coal mine without completing the restoration promised. The promise of restoration is rarely one that is kept and cannot be relied on. The ecosystem, and the lives supported by it, currently on the land also won’t be put back—it is as unique as each of us, and will be lost forever. The idea that a new one will be the same as the old one, that ecosystems and lives are interchangeable, is a subjective view to justify its termination.
Click the image or here for the full report
Countless communities across the UK were - and still are - being sold a lie by their Local Planning Authorities and mining companies.
This report combines field and desk-based research to reveal the continuing failure of Local Planning Authorities to honour promises made to local communities about how, and when, nearby opencast coal mines would be restored. The research finds that mining companies have consistently evaded restoration costs, and continue to hold Local Planning Authorities to ransom in funding even the bare minimum restoration which would otherwise bankrupt County Councils who would be lumbered with a financial liability amounting to tens of millions. Field research indicates that event those sites which Local Planning Authorities have confirmed by email to be fully restored contains uncovered and leaking storage tanks of industrial chemicals, abandoned warehouses, concrete platforms, and no-go zones sectioned off with barbed wire. COP26 broke new ground, with claims the UK would 'move beyond coal' - but we risk leaving behind communities that cannot ‘move beyond coal’ as they continue to live with the localised impacts of a natural environment ravaged by up to 80 years of opencast coal mining. It is in this context, that we provide an update to some of the findings within the 2014 report on the state of coal mine restoration in South Wales, commissioned by the Welsh Government.
We hope this research will spark renewed calls for the vital restoration work still required, ensure plans for the restoration of coal tips is accompanied by restoration of voids, and sound a warning against consideration given to new or extended coal mining in South Wales and beyond.
Following today's (7th December) shocking decision that the UK government are allowing a new underground coking coal mine under the sea by Whitehaven Cumbria, we invite you to show your disdain and join our protest.
Read the full story regarding the approval of this mine see our blog post.
The action is a twitter-storm now that a decision has been made. We’re sorry that this action is only available to those who have a twitter account. If the wrong decision is made there will be more actions in future that don’t need a twitter account. Join our mailing list to keep up to date.
Step 1
Make a sign saying with your reaction to the news – that might be “Dismayed” or “fight’s not over” (because it’s not!) etc.
Step 2
Take a selfie with your sign or get friends/ family/ colleagues in the photo with you. If you can some background in too, go somewhere that highlights where you are from – a notable landmark, a road sign with your town’s name on etc. Otherwise, whatever wall's behind you is fine!
Step 3
Tweet the photo and a caption. This could be “We reject the Whitehaven coal mine, #StopCoal @luhc @CoalActionUK”
