Britain approves first deep coal mine in decades

• The Woodhouse Colliery will extract coking coal, which is utilized in the steel sector.
• Critics fear the proposal will impede the nation’s climate goals.
• The construction of the coal mine would take two years and cost an estimated 165 million pounds.

Wednesday, Britain approved its first new deep coal mine in decades to extract the highly polluting fuel for use in steel production, a proposal that critics fear will impede the nation’s climate goals.

The Woodhouse Colliery, which will be built by West Cumbria Mining in northwest England, will extract coking coal, which is utilized in the steel sector and not for electricity generation. It is anticipated to produce approximately 500 employees.

The British government’s own independent climate advisory body as well as climate activists and organizations, including Greta Thunberg and Greenpeace, have criticized the 2014 project.

“This coal will be used for the production of steel and would otherwise need to be imported. It will not be used for power generation,” according to a representative of the Department of Leveling Up, Housing and Communities.

“The mine seeks to be net zero in its operations and is expected to contribute to local employment and the wider economy.”

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It is anticipated that the majority of coal mining will be sent to Europe. Planning records indicate that within five years, more than 80% of the mine’s yearly coal output will be shipped to an export terminal on England’s east coast.

Greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal — such as in steel and power plants — are the single largest contributor to climate change, and weaning countries off of coal are regarded as essential to attaining global climate goals.

By 2050, the United Kingdom’s greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced to net zero.

John Gummer, the chairman of the independent Climate Change Committee of the United Kingdom, opposed the approval of the Woodhouse project.

“Phasing out coal use is the clearest requirement of the global effort towards Net Zero,” he said in a statement. “The UK’s hard-fought global influence on climate is diminished by today’s decision.”

The construction of the coal mine, measuring around 60 soccer fields or 23 hectares, would take two years and cost an estimated 165 million pounds ($201 million) in 2019. It is proposed that the mine will be operated for 50 years.

When it reaches full output in five years, it will serve steelmakers in Britain and western Europe and employ slightly over 500 people, with more than 80% of them working underground in coal production.

Britain, the cradle of the industrial revolution, formerly employed roughly 3,000 coal mines with 1.2 million workers. The final open-pit mine was shut down in 2015.

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