UK’s new coal mine exposes rich world’s climate hypocrisy

The ink had barely dried on an agreement that was reached way beyond the deadline for the conclusion of the COP27 climate change summit in Sharm El-Sheikh last month before the developed nations began to renege on their commitments, both in letter and spirit, to curb their carbon dioxide emissions in order to try to limit the overall global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius.
Less than three weeks after the extended meeting, the UK government has decided to develop its first deep coal mine in more than three decades, even in the face of sharp criticism from environmental groups. In a decision that was not entirely unexpected but still caught most by surprise, Britain will open the Woodhouse Colliery in Cumbria, which will produce about 2.8 million tons of coking coal a year, mainly for use by steel producers.
The government and the mine developer say that it will help generate employment in one of the poorest regions of the country, as the mine will create 500 jobs, and this is the main reason local Conservative MPs have long been pushing for it to start operations. The colliery said that the mine would not lead to any large emissions, as it would “seek to be a net-zero emitter,” while the government said that the impact of the new mine on the climate would be largely neutral.
When the government announced the mine development plan, it said the coal would be mainly used for plants operated by British Steel and Tata Steel, the two main producers of high-grade steel used by the auto industry, among others. However, this was quickly outed as a lie. British Steel said it would not be using any coal from the new mine due to the high sulfur content of the coal there. Tata Steel said it may use some, but it wants to shift to greener sources of energy over the next decade. Thus, Britain will be producing millions of tons of high-sulfur coal with a noxious impact on the environment, merely to create 500 jobs and earn a few million pounds a year exporting the coal.
By approving the mine at this juncture, the UK government has not only hurt its own credibility as a serious partner in the fight to curb greenhouse gas emissions, but also the image of other developed economies, which have been seen —with a lot of justification — as the real culprits behind the climate change crisis the whole world is facing. This decision also exposes the lies that have dominated the COP negotiations ever since they began almost two decades ago. Just last year, as the host of COP26 in Glasgow, the UK had called on the entire world, notably the developing world, to “consign coal to history.”
By allowing a new mine to operate just to create a few jobs and export some coal, the UK has shown its true colors. It will also tremendously weaken the hand of the rich countries when they next try to preach to developing countries about the need to shift to greener fuels and to get rid of their addiction to coal simply because it is available or cheap.
The British move could not have come at a worse time, as it has also set a very unhealthy precedent for the entire world at a critical juncture. For the past year, many European countries have been toying with the idea of delaying the phasing-out of coal mines operating on their lands. And now that they have a precedent to show that, even for the barest of bare gains, governments can throw aside their green commitments and take the easiest and cheapest route to meet their domestic political obligations, one should not be surprised if other countries follow suit.
But an even bigger threat to the global battle against climate change is the message that it sends to the developing world. Unlike the rich countries, coal mines in Asia and Africa employ hundreds of thousands of people and there are more than enough consumers, individual and companies, that can use up all of the coal they produce as well as whatever is imported from elsewhere, as is being seen in China or India, which are among the world’s largest producers, importers and consumers of coal.
These and other developing countries now have a very good reason to doubt everything that has been said at the various climate change forums. The developed world’s hypocrisy stands totally exposed. Not only will it now be practically impossible for the developed world to point fingers or give any lessons in morality to the poor countries, but they will also have a tough time trying to get the developing nations to keep their own end of the bargain.

By allowing a new mine to operate just to create a few jobs and export some coal, the UK has shown its true colors.

Ranvir S. Nayar

Moreover, the British move also shows the huge challenges that the world community faces in the fight to save the environment. The rich world has made several commitments, including paying up $100 billion every year to the poor countries to help them deal with climate change, as well as to cut their own emissions sharply. These are absolutely huge challenges for any economy and they require not just sincerity and total commitment, but also a lot of political will. The rich world’s governments and politicians have to stand up to their domestic constituents — voters and businesses — and explain why they have to not only cut their own emissions and change their lifestyles dramatically, but also pay billions of dollars to the poor countries.
Convincing voters and business leaders on these issues will need more sincerity and willpower than shown by the UK, which has behaved in a cynical manner by approving the new mine at this juncture. By going ahead with this mine, the British have put themselves and their fellow rich countries — and maybe even the whole world — on a slippery slope toward climate catastrophe.

• Ranvir S. Nayar is managing editor of Media India Group.