Verdict expected after four years of protracted talks as production of the fossil fuel fell to record lows of 2.9m tonnesMinisters will decide this month whether to give the green light to plans for the UK’s largest coalmine after years of fierce opposition from environmentalists. The company’s lawyers wrote to the government earlier this month demanding a decision on the “vital” coal project, saying it could help meet the “important national need for industrial coal”. A spokesman for the company added that the “corona crisis” could threaten the UK’s imports, although there is no evidence that coal shipments have been impacted so far. And to deal with the climate emergency we need to leave the vast majority of the world’s coal in the ground,” he added. The Banks Group argues that mining coal domestically would have a smaller carbon footprint than importing coal by sea and rail.

Source: The Guardian April 01, 2020 04:52 UTC