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Coal facts, figures, and information

The UK coal flow from origin to destination

The most recent official energy statistics for coal from the UK Government are for 2022 (compare with 2021). Over the past decade, UK coal production has fallen by 94% and demand fell by 14% in 2022 compared to 2021. In 2022, imports accounted for 85% of UK's coal (63% in 2021). The UK Government banned Russian coal imports in August 2022. Read more about coal imports.

Coal mining

The Global Energy Monitor estimates 7.2 billion tonnes of coal are mined each year, from 3,670 recorded coal mines across 70 countries. Coal mining worldwide emits around 52 million tonnes of methane per year (equivalent to 4,320 million tonnes of CO2*), more than oil (39 million tonnes) or gas (45 million tonnes)....

Burning coal emits more CO2 than any other fuel source for the amount of energy it produces. Burning coal also pollutes our air with many other hazardous gasses, including nitrogen oxide, mercury, and sulphur dioxide – with global and local consequences for climate change...

COAL NEWS

Horse Hill Supreme Court victory

Fantastic news today, 20th June 2024. The UK Supreme Court has set a historical precedent, in overturning a previous ruling, considering the legality of approving a new oil site in Surrey. The ground breaking decision stating that ‘downstream’ emissions (those released when a product is used) must be factored into decisions on…

UK election 2024: Parties line up to ban more coal mining

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, and Plaid Cymru which have also ruled out any new coal mining…

Email your election candidate

Coal Action Network asked Who will stop coal? last weekend in Whitehaven, West Cumbria. At the site of the proposed coal mine, members of the local community and supporters gathered to ensure that the question of the mine is being put to election candidates. Now we need you to crank up the pressure and make sure all election candidates across the UK faces this question as they could decide the fate of the coal mine if elected…

Bedwas coal tip: a new frontier for coal in South Wales?

‘Energy Recovery Investments Ltd’ is proprosing to extract the coal from 3 large coal tips in Bedwas, Caerphilly, South Wales. The company claims that it would use some of the sales of the coal to restore those coal tips later. The coal tips lie above a coal seam, which the company claims it would coincidentally have to dig into to create ‘lagoons’ for processing the coal from the coal tips…

Charges dropped for activists blocking Ffos-y-fran coal mine

The Crown Prosecution Service has dropped all charges against the four Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists who blockaded the entrance to the UK’s largest open-cast coal mine, last summer with a pink boat. While removing the immediate burden of legal confrontation for the defendants, the decision has left a “crater of unfinished business” in the fight for climate justice and accountability for local residents…

Welsh position on a coal ban needs to change

On 23 October 2023, over 30 Wales-based NGOs, businesses, and community groups signed an open letter to Wales’ Climate Change Minister, Julie James, calling for the Welsh Government to ban coal mining once and for all (sent by Climate Cymru). On 10th January 2024, Julie James wrote back…

Ffos-y-fran, the UK’s last opencast coal mine finally shut – we’re not celebrating

We are an environmental organisation dedicated to ending coal mining and use in the UK for the sake of our collective climate and ecosystems. So you’d think we’d celebrate the claim by Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd that it will finally stop mining coal today at Ffos-y-fran in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. But we’re not. Because the abject failure of Merthyr County Borough Council to stop…

Ditch the dirty dollars – invest in our future!

People hailing from Cumbria to London, and everywhere in between, descended on the Mines and Money Conference in London across two days (28th-29th Nov 2023). We demanded that investors stop pouring cash into the mining sector, and  instead invest in our collective future. Together with Fossil Free London and other groups, we greeted investors with…

5 Insurers Rule Out The West Cumbria Mine

The insurers that have ruled out underwriting the mine are AEGIS Managing Agency, Argenta Syndicate Management, Hannover Re and Talanx. These are the first financial institutions to rule out any involvement with the project, and the win represents a new phase in the campaign to stop the project from going ahead.

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