At full capacity, the coal mine in Cumbria will produce 2.8 million tonnes of coke per year for European steelworks
(sustainabilityenvironment.com) – Unsustainable and “totally unnecessary“. With an impact on the climate that will be devastating. For these reasons, the London government must back down and cancel the approval of the new coal mine in Cumbria, the first to open its doors in 30 years. He is supported by Friends of the Earth in a note announcing that he will sue the government of Rishi Sunak.
“With the world facing a climate emergency, we shouldn’t be here to take this challenge to court. Any reasonable government should choose to leave coal underground and accelerate the transition to a safe, clean and sustainable future” is the comment of Niall Toru, an advocate of the environmental NGO.
400 thousand t CO2 per year from the coal mine
The appeal will focus exclusively on the climate impact of the new coal mine. The site, at full capacity, should produce 2.8 million tons of coke per year, which will be exported to Europe and will supply the steelworks of the continent. Until 2049. Once in operation, the site will generate 400 thousand tons of CO2 each year. That’s equivalent to putting 200,000 more gasoline vehicles on the road. The “significant climate impacts” of which, according to the NGO, the government “did not take into account”.
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London gave the green light in December and chose to focus its communication on jobs. But even on this front fote rejects the plan. “The steel industry is under no illusions that it will have to decarbonize if we are to achieve our climate objectives, which casts doubt on the long-term viability of the mine and the jobs used to justify it,” Toru continues. “As many jobs could be created locally through a program that would ensure that all homes in the area are adequately insulated. This would bring a myriad of benefits that the mine cannot offer, such as lower energy bills, warmer houses and less carbon emissions released into the atmosphere”.