“Scotland… has drawn a line, the era of coal is over” Today (Sat 15th October 2022) the Scottish government has stated that the “era of coal is over”. Lorna Slater, Co-leader of the Scottish Greens, announced at their party conference the preferred position against coal mining, for all types of coal. This is essentially a…
Key facts: Whitehaven coal mine West Cumbria Mining Ltd want to extract 2.78 million tonnes of coking coal annually, right up to 2049. Cumbria County Council approved the application; but campaigning, including a 114,000+ signature Coal Action Network petition, led government to make the decision itself and call a public inquiry. Subsequently the government approved the…
Ffos-y-fran mining company acting “unilaterally and unlawfully” Respected senior Barristers, James Maurici KC, and Barrister Toby Fisher have today released a blistering open letter of legal advice that reveals for the first time that the company operating the UK’s largest opencast coal mine, Ffos-y-fran, in South Wales is doing so “unilaterally and unlawfully” without the…
Ffos-y-fran: timeline of illegal coal mining What follows is an illustrated timeline of the major twists and turns of the long campaign to stop and restore the UK’s largest opencast coal mine, Ffos-y-fran, in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales
Victory! Ffos-y-fran opencast stopped from extending coal operations After 20 years of campaigning, last night (26/04/23) Merthyr Tydfil residents, Coal Action Network, Friends of the Earth Cymru, the Green Party, XR and other environmental campaigners finally collectively stopped Ffos-y-fran opencast coal with the Council’s refusal of permission to extend its climate chaos until 2024! This…
Petition delivered to the Welsh Government: call in and reject this coal mine! In September 2022, Ffos-y-fran opencast coal mine’s 15-year planning permission ran out and the coal mine was due to close and restoration begin. However, Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd applied for a S73 time extension to mine coal at the site for a…
Santa delivers Christmas coal to Gove for Whitehaven approval Cumbria mine puts Gove on naughty list: Santa’s deliver sacks of ‘coal’ to him at his Whitehall office. Michael Gove is put on the naughty list for Cumbria Whitehaven mine; a gang of Santas delivers coal to Gove’s Whitehall office on behalf of Coal Action Network…
Click the arrows for coal-mine based chapters, or here for the full report in PDF Coal mine restoration in South Wales (2022/23) Summary Countless communities across the UK were – and still are – being sold a lie by their Local Planning Authorities and mining companies. This report combines field and desk-based research to reveal…
Informal briefing to Welsh Government on Aberpergwm and Welsh coal This week Coal Action Network held an informal briefing in the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) sponsored by Jane Dodds, Member of the Senedd (MS). The event was attended by MSs and their staff who heard why the proposal to extend Aberpergwm coal mine should be stopped…
Coal is finite, but we are relentless Rich Felgate’s film FINITE: The Climate of Change, features the Campaign to Protect Pont Valley and the occupation of the Hambacher forest. It shows how, through relentless campaigning, direct action and creative protest, concerned people stopped destruction of the remaining Hambacher forest in the Rhineland, Germany. The forest…