A high court ruling has blocked the United Kingdom’s first new deep coal mine in three decades, and climate campaigners are hailing it as a “win for the environment.”
Justice Holgate determined that the proposed coalmine in Whitehaven, Cumbria, cannot proceed. The decision comes after a significant Supreme Court ruling invalidated planning permission for an oil drilling project at Horse Hill in Surrey.
Also read: OEUK Calls for Support in Domestic Energy Transition Amidst Concerns Over Windfall Tax Impact
This landmark judgment established that the climate impacts of burning fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, must be considered when approving new projects. The Whitehaven ruling represents the first judicial review of a new fossil fuel project since the Horse Hill case, reports The Guardian.
Justice Holgate concurred with Friends of the Earth that Michael Gove, during his tenure as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, acted unlawfully by accepting West Cumbria Mining’s (WCM) assertion that the proposed Whitehaven coal mine would be “net zero” and would not hinder the UK’s ability to meet the emissions reductions mandated by the Climate Change Act 2008.
The claim was based on the mine’s use of international carbon credits, a practice not permitted by UK policy for meeting carbon reduction goals.
This year, the newly elected Labour government retracted its support for the Whitehaven mine amidst ongoing legal proceedings.
Also read: UK Government Plans to Introduce New Environmental Guidance for North Sea Oil and Gas Companies
Angela Rayner, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, was represented by legal counsel who claimed there had been a legal misjudgment in granting planning permission for the mine in December 2022.
The government decided not to contest the legal challenges brought by Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change and instead urged the court to revoke the planning permission.
Nevertheless, the mine’s developer, WCM, defended the original approval.
The environmental impact assessment for the mine omitted the emissions from burning the coal.
These projected emissions, estimated to exceed 220 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over the mine’s lifespan, would surpass half of the UK’s total emissions in 2022.
During the court proceedings, Friends of the Earth argued that, in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Surrey case, the potential climate impact of burning fossil fuels should have been factored into the planning approval decision.
As a result of the ruling, Rayner will need to re-evaluate the planning application with a comprehensive consideration of its climate impact. In this process, she might request additional evidence or reopen the planning inquiry, or the mining company could choose to revise and resubmit the application.
