Poll results: Cumbria coal mine - yes or no?

The Poll ran from Dec 8, 2022 to Jan 16 2023 and received 869 votes

Michael Gove’s decision to approve the UK’s first new coal mine in decades sparked a fierce debate about the UK’s commitment to its carbon-cutting ambitions.

According to its supporters, the mine – near Whitehaven in Cumbria – will produce an estimated 2.8 million tonnes of coking coal a year for steel production and create around 500 jobs in the region.

Whilst the mine is expected to produce an estimated 400,000 tonnes of GHG emissions per year, the government insists the scheme will not undermine the UK’s legally-binding ambition to reach net zero emissions by 2050. According to current plans, the mine - known as Woodhouse Colliery - is scheduled to cease operating in 2049.

Meanwhile, critics of the scheme argue that the mine makes little economic sense, that it will trash the UK’s reputation as a global leader on climate action, and undermine efforts to accelerate the development of lower carbon methods of steel production.  “A new coal mine in Cumbria makes no sense environmentally or economically,” said Prof Paul Ekins, Professor of Resources and Environmental Policy at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources. “It will add to global CO2 emissions, as the new supply will not replace other coal but divert it elsewhere, and it will become stranded in the 2030s as the steel industry globally moves away from coal.”