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The High Court in London has dominated towards the planning permission granted for a metallurgical coal mine in West Cumbria, ending a years-long controversy over what would have been the UK’s first new coal mine in 30 years.
The carefully watched verdict underlines how the brand new Labour authorities, bolstered by a key authorized precedent set in June, is curbing the event of any new fossil gasoline initiatives within the UK.
Justice David Holgate issued the choice right this moment, upholding a authorized problem from two environmental teams who argued that the licence for the mine didn’t consider the local weather affect of the coal produced.
Niall Toru, senior lawyer for Friends of the Earth, mentioned the ruling was a “huge victory for our environment and everyone who has fought against this climate-damaging and completely unnecessary coal mine”.
The facility to be in-built Whitehaven had earlier obtained authorities approval in December 2022 underneath then communities secretary Michael Gove.
Following right this moment’s ruling, the federal government should rethink the planning software for the mine, making an allowance for the emissions produced by the coal pulled out of the bottom.
Mine proprietor West Cumbria Mining mentioned that it had “no comment to make”.
The problem to the licence by two non-profit teams, Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change, argued the mine licence was illegal as a result of it didn’t consider the emissions produced when coal from the mine was burnt in metal mills.
In July, the brand new Labour authorities determined to not defend the licence, in impact dropping the case. West Cumbria Mining continued to defend its licence in court even with out authorities assist.
The UK nonetheless has a handful of working coal mines, which produced about 500,000 tonnes of coal final yr, in line with authorities information.
Over the previous century, the variety of coal mines within the UK has fallen from greater than 2,600 to simply seven on the finish of final yr, official information present.
The Woodhouse Colliery close to Whitehaven would have produced 3.5mn tonnes per yr of arduous coking coal to provide steelmaking operations.
The case towards the Whitehaven mine was bolstered by a Supreme Court ruling in June regarding an oil undertaking, which discovered that the broader emissions affect of the oil produced needed to be thought-about throughout licensing.
The Labour authorities has additionally chosen to not defend the licences granted to the Rosebank website, the most important undeveloped oil and gasfield within the North Sea, casting doubt on the way forward for the undertaking.
Tessa Khan, govt director on the marketing campaign group Uplift, mentioned: “The court has made it clear that the favourite line of fossil fuel companies — that if we didn’t produce fossil fuels here, it would simply be produced elsewhere — doesn’t wash.”
The choice additionally confirmed that such assertions ought to be topic to “public scrutiny” and that the federal government “cannot just wave through new projects”, she mentioned.
Uplift has introduced a joint authorized problem with Greenpeace towards the Rosebank and Jackdaw offshore oil and gasfields.