Coal tips in Wales – what are they? Coal tips, also known as coal spoil or slag heaps, and overburden are large mounds of waste soil, rocks, and fragments of coal that was dumped there as it was originally in the way between a mining company and the profitable coal it wanted to mine. Sometimes,…
UK Government makes it official: coal mining no more Massive campaign win! Coal Action Network has been campaigning for a ban on new coal mining for years, and met with numerous MPs in the lead-up to the 2024 UK General Election. Together with our supporters, we celebrate this clear win for us and for all…
Turkey’s deadly coal consumption – Türkiye’nin Kömür Kullanımına Devam Etmesi The small city of Ereğli nestles between tree covered mountains and Turkey’s Black Sea coast. The city is dominated by the Erdemir steelworks. It is one of three blast furnace steelworks in Turkey, using coal to produce steel. Erdemir is a mighty presence in the…
Welsh position on a coal ban needs to change A response from the Welsh Climate Change Minister Coal Action Network wrote an open letter to the Welsh Climate Change Minister, and are now able to publish their reply in full: Background On 23 October 2023, over 30 Wales-based NGOs, businesses, and community groups signed an…
Key facts: Glan Lash opencast coal mine expansion 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…
Consett Steelworks closure – a Just Transition? (An interview) Pat Carr is a resident of Dipton, County Durham, he worked, alongside many members of his family at Consett Steelworks, before it was closed down. In 1980 the Nationalised British Steel Corporation sought to prioritise coastal steelworks that could more easily import iron ore and export…
Historic moment UK ends coal for power generation 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…
Coal, British Industry, and Colonialism FUELLING, AND FUELLED BY, COLONIALISM 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. The British Empire’s…
Victory – West Cumbria Coal Mine Rejected! Campaigners celebrate as the decision to allow a new coal mine in Cumbria is quashed. Today, 13th September, South Lakes Action on Climate Change and Friends of the Earth won their case, against the Conservative Government’s 2022 decision, to allow a new coal mine. Following a hearing in…
Restoration without the climate vandalism Background ERI Ltd launched its pre-application consultation in early 2024 to mine two coal tips in Bedwas, South Wales. The company is proposing to extract a total of around 468,000 tonnes of coal from both tips. This would drive further climate chaos by over 1.3 million tonnes of CO2, as…