“...we will not grant new coal licences and will ban fracking for good.”
Manifesto in full
“Maintaining the ban on fracking and introducing a ban on new coal mines.”
“Cancel recent fossil fuel licences such as for Rosebank and stop all new fossil fuel extraction projects in the UK.”
“Ban new coal licences. Follow the SNP Scottish Government’s lead and commit to no support for new coal mines, which would undermine our action to reach net zero.”
“...are opposed to... new open cast coal mines. Opencast mine sites should be fully restored for the benefit of local communities, and should never be used as a guise for private companies to undertake further coal extraction.”
The Labour Party's manifesto pledge “we will not grant new coal licences and will ban fracking for good.” follows a year of inside-track and public campaigning by Coal Action Network in the UK parliament and Welsh Senedd.
The UK’s last coal-fired power station closes this year, and last year is confirmed the hottest year on record. We’re pleased that the Labour Party has listened to our arguments, along with the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party, Plaid Cymru, and Scottish National Party which have also ruled out any new coal mining.
We'll work with whichever party forms the new Government on turning a policy ruling out new coal licences into a stronger statute. We hope the new Government will also address existing coal licences – for both operating mines, such as Aberpergwm (permission to mine until 2039), and proposed mines such as West Cumbria (permission to mine until 2049). The West Cumbria coal mine is an example of how coal mine licences can slip through the coal regulator, even when there is no domestic demand for the coal and it'll be exported to drive further climate chaos.
Coal is still the number one fossil fuel driver of climate change globally - we must lead my example, and a policy ruling out any more licences for coal mining is just that.
Published: 17. 06. 2024
The proposed West Cumbria Coal mine lost its planning permission in September 2024. Since then its application to get a full coal mining license was refused by the Coal Authority, another nail in the coffin of the proposed coking coal mine.
Bryn Bach Coal Ltd is the coal mining company that operates the Glan Lash opencast coal mine, which has been dormant since planning permission expired in 2019. In 2018, it applied for an extension which was unanimously rejected by planning councillors in 2023. Undeterred, Bryn Bach Coal Ltd is trying again! This time with a slightly smaller extension of some 85,000 tonnes rather than 95,000 tonnes…
In May 2023, Coal Action Network wrote to the Climate Change, Energy, and Infrastructure Committee (CCEIC) of the Welsh Senedd, informing the Committee of the ongoing illegal coal mining at Ffos-y-fran in Merthyr Tydfil, and the Council and Welsh Government’s refusal to use their enforcement powers to prevent the daily extraction of over 1,000 tonnes of coal…
The end of coal power in the UK – how we got here, what’s still needed? Smoke filled the sky across the industrial parts of the UK, as coal powered the industrial revolution. First coal brought prosperity and progress, but over decades the smoke stacks…
The UK is reaching a major milestone in its transition to clean energy, one that Coal Action Network has campaigned for since its inception in 2008 — the complete phase-out of coal power generation. From October 2024, Ratcliffe power station — the last remaining coal-fired power station in the country…
Coal powered Britain’s industrial and economic expansion during its Industrial Revolution. The abundance of coal discovered in Britain was a key factor that enabled the country’s early industrialisation, developing technologies and industries unfeasible elsewhere due to the lack of cheap energy sources…
Victory! The High Court overturns the 2022 planning permission to mine coal at Whitehaven.
Take action – let planners say no to new coal mining TAKE ACTION The public consultation window for the National Policy and Planning Framework represents the first opportunity since the new UK Government was formed to stop any new coal mine application winning planning permission…
We’ve teamed up with our friends at the Good Law Project to obtain expert legal advice, revealing that ERI Ltd’s disastrous proposal to mine two of the Bedwas coal tips is unlikely to get the necessary permissions. If it does, we’re confident we can challenge it…
well done for your role in achieving this cross many party commitment