Climate change: Environment groups call for public inquiry into Cumbrian coal mine

Dozens of environmental groups have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling for a public inquiry into plans for a new coal mine in Cumbria.

They say it is "mystifying" that No 10 has not stopped the mine from going ahead, when the UK is hosting the COP26 climate summit later this year.

A top climate scientist has warned the PM risks "humiliation" over the plans.

No 10 said the UK is a world leader in climate policy and it would not reverse the decision.

The letter, signed by groups including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, criticises the decision not to intervene in the approval of the mine, when the UK's credibility - as summit host - is "at stake".

The letter to Mr Johnson describes the summit, which takes place in Glasgow in November, as "the largest global climate talks since the signing of the Paris Agreement".

The signatories acknowledge that whilst "new jobs need to be created", the government should "lead the way with low-carbon technologies, rather than looking to the polluting industries of the past".

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The £165m West Cumbria Mining plan in Whitehaven was approved by Cumbria County Council in October. It would be the UK's first deep coal mine in 30 years.

The council said the government could have "called in" the plans for a public inquiry, but had chosen not to do so.

In an interview with the BBC, the local mayor welcomed the proposals.

Mike Starkie, the Conservative mayor of Copeland Borough Council, said: "I think the project is absolutely fantastic, it'll bring huge amounts of jobs and prosperity into the area.

"It's been broadly welcomed across Copeland. I've never known a project that has carried so much public support."

But the campaigners say "time is of the essence" for the government to act, before Cumbria County Council issues its final decision on the mine "very soon".

In the letter, they urge Robert Jenrick, the secretary of state for Housing, Communities and Local Government, to refer the plans to a public inquiry.

The government's chief planning officer previously defended Robert Jenrick's decision not to overrule consent for the mine

They write: "Reversing this decision would help restore confidence in the UK government's climate leadership both internationally and at home."

Stanley Johnson, the prime minister's father, told the BBC it was a "massive mistake in public relations terms".

He said: "How can we ask other countries to bring in their climate change reduction programmes when we are now reopening the whole coal argument here in Britain?"

It comes as Dr James Hansen, formerly Nasa's leading global warming researcher, urged Mr Johnson in a letter to halt production of the mine - or risk being "vilified".

Downing Street has previously defended the decision over the mine as a local planning matter and insisted the UK is cutting emissions faster than any major economy and would end the use of coal for electricity by 2025.

Justin Rowlatt, the BBC's chief environment correspondent, says when it comes to decarbonisation, the UK is a world leader.

Our correspondent says the UK's coal consumption has decreased by 90% in the last five years and just four power stations still burn coal.

Dr Hansen's letter follows earlier criticism from the government's advisory body on global warming, the Climate Change Committee (CCC).

It warned the mine would increase global emissions and compromise the UK's legally binding carbon budgets.

The CCC said: "The decision to award planning permission [for the mine] to 2049 will commit the UK to emissions from coking coal." The body said coking coal will have to stop by 2035 if the country is to meet its climate change targets.

CORRECTION 7 February 2021: An earlier version of this story wrongly stated that the Conservative Environment Network opposes the proposed mine. Stanley Johnson is an ambassador for the group but was not speaking on its behalf.