Licenced: the Aberpergwm coal mine extension

On 25th January 2022…

…Whilst the Welsh and UK Governments continued to argue over which could stop it, The Coal Authority (now: Mining Remediation Authority) approved the full licence for an underground coal mine extension to Energybuild Ltd. The company can now mine a further 40 MILLION TONNES of coal until 2039, emitting an est. 100 MILLION TONNES of CO2 and up to 1.17 MILLION TONNES of methane emissions.

This is exactly what Coal Action Network warned squabbling Senedd and Westminster politicians would happen if they didn’t intervene.

Coal Action Network challenged this climate-trashing licence all the way up to the Supreme Court and lost. We are so thankful to our supporters and funders that enabled us to do this, and we believe the Court’s decision was materially wrong.

As a result of a lack of political will and passing a hot potato between them, politicians, the then Coal Authority, and the courts have locked us into the UK’s only remaining large coal mine – until at least 2039.