Scotland declares formal opposition to coal mining

Scotland has in effect banned coal mining by confirming no support will be given to future extraction.

While there are no mines in Scotland, a conditional licence has been granted for a site in Cumbria which extends into Dumfries and Galloway.

Powers over coal exploitation are reserved to Westminster, but Holyrood's planning role means it can block developments.

The UK government is due to rule on another Cumbria proposal next month.

If allowed, the mine near Whitehaven would be the UK's first deep coal mine in more than 30 years, extracting coking coal for steel production from beneath the Irish Sea.

The UK's steel-making industry currently use large quantities of Russian coal, but former prime minister Boris Johnson previously said he wanted to move away from Russian resources following the invasion of Ukraine.

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The Coal Authority, which granted a conditional licence for the Whitehaven site as well as another one straddling the England Scotland border, currently has a statutory duty to secure an economically viable coal mining industry.

UK ministers are, however, reviewing that in the light of climate change goals and have pledged to end the use of coal for electricity production by October 2024.

Coal mining was once a major industry in Scotland, but the last deep mine at Longannet in Fife closed in 2002. The nearby Longannet power station ceased generation in 2016, and it was demolished last year.

Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater confirmed the Scottish government had agreed a formal position of no support for coal extraction, and called on the UK government to do the same,

Ms Slater, who is a minister under the power sharing agreement, told her party's conference: "Scotland, the country that helped bring the coal-fired industrial revolution to the world, has drawn a line.

"The era of coal is over and I'm calling on the UK government to follow us, to make the right call for once, to ban coal extraction for good."

A consultation was held on Scotland's coal extraction policy position over the summer, and the government said it had now agreed its "preferred policy position is no support for coal extraction in Scotland".

Coal extraction licences might still be granted into exceptional circumstances, for instance when it is legally required as part of building work or where a seam needs to be removed in preparing foundations.

Statutory and other assessments will have to be made before it becomes a finalised policy position.