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The dilemma surrounding Whitehaven and it’s proposed new coal mine
The plan to open the UK’s first new deep coal mine for 30 years is one that has stirred up fierce debates on the environment and economic prosperity. As the public inquiry gets underway to decide the mine’s future, this blog will attempt to weigh up both sides of the argument and briefly discuss how the steel industry can be decarbonised.
An important shift in rhetoric surrounding the climate crisis and achieving carbon neutrality has happened in recent years, so it is shocking that plans to open a coal mine in western Cumbria were approved by the local council before the government intervened and ordered a public inquiry into the mine. According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) executive director Fatih Birol, “if governments are serious about the climate crisis, there can be no new investments in oil, gas, and coal, from now – from this year” (The Guardian, 2018). The plan to open the Woodhouse Colliery, as it is formally known, goes directly against this statement and damages the reputation of the UK being viewed as a world leader in green energy, and undermines the pledges made in the run-up to Cop26, which is only weeks away. What is also clear is the gap between government rhetoric surrounding achieving net zero economies and the reality of the situation; the coal mine is a prime example of this (The Guardian, 2018). In this case, West Cumbrian Mining (WCM) the company behind the mine and the Cumbrian council, have made the extraordinary case that their mine will be a net-zero mine and actually reduce carbon emissions overall and be beneficial in climate terms (The Guardian, 2021).
The science is crystal clear when it comes to climate change. Carbon emissions need to be drastically reduced. The recent report published by the IPCC in August 2021 further solidifies this fact. The Prime Minister himself stated that we need to “consign coal to history and shift to clean energy sources” (BBC, 2021). This makes the case for Whitehaven’s coalmine even more baffling. How can the UK be seen as a world leader in the fight against climate change when it is prepared to open a coal mine that would emit 9m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, more than Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast’s emissions combined? (The Guardian, 2021). Woodhouse Colliery will be extracting coal for steel production, however, the steel industry already accounts for 5-8% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions (Forbes, 2020). The opening of this coal mine would not reduce greenhouse gases as its supporters and WCM claim it would but actively add to this percentage. It is reported that 2.7m tonnes of coking coal will be produced per year by the mine, an amount the government says would otherwise have to be imported (The Guardian, 2021). However, it’s estimated that 85% of it is planned to be exported anyway, and with the world shifting away from coal usage, there is a real possibility of having a surplus of stock that will be useless as industries move away from fossil fuels.
Despite this, there is one factor that both sides of the argument agree upon employment. The opportunities for employment are limited in Whitehaven due to the closure of a local chemical factory and a steelworks. Many locals describe their home as a “ghost town” (BBC, 2021). So, it is unsurprising that the prospect of the area getting 500 guaranteed jobs has been seized upon by its residents who want a “piece of the pie” (The New York Times, 2021). The growth Whitehaven would see in its economy if the mine opens would be a lifeline to save a deprived area that is described as being economically and geographically isolated. The situation the government finds itself in at the moment is difficult, to say the least. They are in the position of choosing between no jobs or dirty jobs for the Whitehaven community. It is clear that the decision the government has to make after the inquiry ends is one that is “loaded with local consequence, national importance and the capacity to mould its international reputation” (BBC, 2021).
The debate surrounding the coal mine has opened up discussions about how the steel industry as a whole can move to become decarbonised. The Steel Climate-Aligned Finance Working Group has been formed, made up of six leaders in lenders to the steel industry, to develop a financing agreement to help scale up investments in potential alternatives for steel making that are not yet commercially mature (Edie, 2021). According to the head of the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit, the UK has “enviable resources to produce clean hydrogen from renewable energy” that can be used to shift away from the reliance on coking coal (Edie, 2021). The UK sticking to the status quo of using coking coal for steel production makes it harder to reach the goal of net-zero by 2050, and ignores the opportunity that decarbonisation of the steel industry is to become a competitive global market that EU nations are beginning to embrace (Edie, 2021).
It is apparent that there is no easy answer or solution to both the proposed coal mine and the process to decarbonise the steel industry. However, with the public inquiry due to end in the coming weeks, all eyes will be on the new communities secretary, Michael Gove, to see what his final decision will be on Whitehaven’s controversial coal mine.
Sources:
https://www.westcumbriamining.com/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58144779
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-57927389
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/26/business/coal-mine-england-uk.html
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