Members of the public walks their dogs by the former pithead at Haig Colliery Mining Museum close to the site of a proposed new coal mine near the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven in north-west England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. A proposal to dig a new coal mine here is dividing the British government just as it prepares to host a major climate conference. West Cumbria Mining wants to build Britain's first deep coal mine in three decades to extract coking coal, which is used to make steel. The coal would be processed in Whitehaven, 340 miles (550 kilometers) northwest of London. But environmentalists are horrified by the idea. (AP Photo/Jon Super) Members of the public walk on the site of a proposed new coal mine near the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven in northwest England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. A proposal to dig a new coal mine here is dividing the British government just as it prepares to host a major climate conference. West Cumbria Mining wants to build Britain's first deep coal mine in three decades to extract coking coal, which is used to make steel. The coal would be processed in Whitehaven, 340 miles (550 kilometers) northwest of London. But environmentalists are horrified by the idea. (AP Photo/Jon Super) Former miner Dave Cradduck who worked at Haig Colliery between 1964 and 1984 poses for a picture at the Haig Colliery Mining Museum close to the site of a proposed new coal mine near the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven in northwest England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. For the 74-year-old Cradduck, a plan for a new coal mine that could bring hundreds of jobs is cause for hope. But environmentalists view it with horror. They say it sends a disastrous message as the United Kingdom welcomes world leaders, advocates, diplomats and scientists to Glasgow, Scotland, for a United Nations climate conference that starts Oct. 31. (AP Photo/Jon Super) A statue entitled 'End of an Era' paying homage to the region's mining industry stands close to the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven near the site of a proposed new coal mine in northwest England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Super) Local resident Eddie Dawson holds placards in support of a proposed new coal mine during a site visit by members of a public inquiry into the feasibility of the project near the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven in northwest England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Super) Maggie Mason of South Lakes Action on Climate Change, left, stands with members of a public inquiry into the feasibility of a proposed new coal mine during a visit to the site near the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven in northwest England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. Environmentalists are opposed to the idea of the new mine. "It's blindingly obvious that the quickest way to stop these carbon emissions and to make radical changes — which we have to do in the next 10 years — is to stop opening any new coal mines," said Maggie Mason, a local opponent of the mine. "The same is true for oil wells and gas wells." (AP Photo/Jon Super) A disused mining ventilation chimney is seen close to the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven near the site of a proposed coal mine in northwest England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Super) Turnstiles guard the empty site of the former Marchon chemical works, the site of a proposed new coal mine on the outskirts of the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven in northwest England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Super) An aerial view shows the site of a proposed new coal mine near the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven in northwest England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. A proposal to dig a new coal mine here is dividing the British government just as it prepares to host a major climate conference. West Cumbria Mining wants to build Britain's first deep coal mine in three decades to extract coking coal, which is used to make steel. The coal would be processed in Whitehaven, 340 miles (550 kilometers) northwest of London. But environmentalists are horrified by the idea.(AP Photo/Jon Super) Members of the public hold placards in support of a proposed new coal mine before a site visit by members of a public inquiry into the feasibility of the project near the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven in northwest England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. Local supporters of the mine believe they are the silent majority, at risk of being drowned out by environmental activists. Some rallied at the site this month, holding signs that read "Part of the answer, not part of the problem" and "Cumbria coke is the real thing." (AP Photo/Jon Super) Members of a public inquiry into the feasibility of a proposed new coal mine make a visit to the site near the town of Whitehaven in northwest England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Super) A view of part of the town of Whitehaven in Cumbria near the site of a proposed new coal mine in northwest England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. A proposal to dig a new coal mine here is dividing the British government just as it prepares to host a major climate conference. West Cumbria Mining wants to build Britain's first deep coal mine in three decades to extract coking coal, which is used to make steel. The coal would be processed in Whitehaven, 340 miles (550 kilometers) northwest of London. But environmentalists are horrified by the idea. (AP Photo/Jon Super) An aerial view of the the site of a proposed new coal mine near the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven in northwest England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. A proposal to dig a new coal mine here is dividing the British government just as it prepares to host a major climate conference. West Cumbria Mining wants to build Britain's first deep coal mine in three decades to extract coking coal, which is used to make steel. The coal would be processed in Whitehaven, 340 miles (550 kilometers) northwest of London. But environmentalists are horrified by the idea. (AP Photo/Jon Super) A tunnel entrance at the site of a proposed new coal mine near the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven in northwest England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Super) Former miner Raymond Gill poses for a picture near Haig Colliery Mining Museum close to the site of a proposed new coal mine near the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven in northwest England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Super) A closed sign outside the Haig Colliery Mining Museum close to the site of a proposed new coal mine near the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven in northwest England, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
WHITEHAVEN, England (AP) — In the patchwork of hills, lakes and sea that make up England’s northwest corner, most people see beauty. Dave Cradduck sees broken dreams.
The coal mine where the 74-year-old once worked has long closed. The chemical factory that employed thousands is gone. The nuclear power plant is being decommissioned.
To Cradduck, a plan for a new coal mine that could bring hundreds of jobs is a sign that “at least someone’s interested in the area” and an opportunity "for people who have got mining in their blood.”
But environmentalists view the proposed mine with horror. They say it sends a disastrous message as the United Kingdom welcomes world leaders, advocates, diplomats and scientists to Glasgow, Scotland, for a United Nations Climate Change Conference that starts Oct. 31.
Many scientists and activists consider the two-week COP26 conference a last chance to nail down carbon-cutting promises that could keep global warming within manageable limits.
“The U.K. sets itself out as a leader, but it’s building a coal mine, which is the most polluting thing that you can do,” Rebecca Willis, a professor of energy and climate governance at Lancaster University, said. “It sends a signal to the rest of the world that the U.K. isn’t actually serious.”
The proposed deep mine symbolizes a dilemma facing the British government: It aims to generate all of the U.K.’s electricity from clean energy sources by 2035 and to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. But Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also pledged to boost prosperity in England’s neglected north with new factories, roads, railways and other infrastructure that environmentalists say is at odds with the government’s green agenda.
West Cumbria Mining, the company hoping to build Britain’s first deep coal mine in three decades, wants to extract coking coal — a type used to make steel rather than for fuel — from under the Irish Sea. It plans to process the coal on the site of a shuttered chemical plant in Whitehaven, 340 miles (550 kilometers) northwest of London.
The company describes the project as a new kind of mine, far removed from the dirty, dangerous behemoths whose brick and steel skeletons dot the region's landscape. West Cumbria Mining says it will be the world’s first net-zero coal mine, with all of its carbon emissions reduced or offset by credits to the Gold Standard Foundation, an environmental organization. Plans show curved modern buildings that blend in with the surrounding hills.
Alexander Greaves, a lawyer for the mining company, said while opening a new coal mine might look bad at first glance, the Cumbria County project aims to be different be design.
“Showing these mines can be made by law…to capture greenhouse gas emissions and required to offset any residual impact…is true environmental leadership,” he said.
Environmentalists scoff at that idea.
“It’s blindingly obvious that the quickest way to stop these carbon emissions and to make radical changes — which we have to do in the next 10 years — is to stop opening any new coal mines,” said Maggie Mason, a local opponent of the mine. “The same is true for oil wells and gas wells."
Nature and industry have long vied for supremacy in this part of England. Whitehaven sits on the edge of the Lake District National Park, an area whose beauty inspired William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter. The area also once was home to industries that offered hard, dirty jobs in factories and mines.
These days, wind turbines spin beside the sea — a sign of Britain’s transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, which last year produced almost half of the country’s electricity. That share shrank this year, however, partly due to a lack of wind.
With the cost of imported natural gas soaring and plans for new nuclear plants moving at a crawl, the U.K. government is still considering new fossil-fuel projects.
In the North Atlantic, west of the Shetland islands, Shell and Siccar Point Energy plan to extract 170 million barrels of oil from the Cambo oilfield. Environmental groups are trying to force the British government to stop the drilling. Johnson’s administration is reluctant to intervene, saying “sources like Cambo are still required” to meet Britain’s energy needs as it shifts to a low-carbon economy.
“We need to transition our existing oil and gas sector to a decarbonized platform,” Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said last month in the House of Commons, accusing Cambo opponents of wanting “a complete eclipse" of the oil and gas industries "with 250,000 jobs vanishing overnight.”
In West Cumbria, the local authority approved the mine a year ago. The area’s Conservative mayor, Mike Starkie, says it will be “transformational.”
The British government, under pressure from opponents and its own environmental commitments, intervened in March and ordered an inquiry by a planning inspector. The inspector says he will make a recommendation around the end of the year. Then the U.K. government will make a final decision — well after COP26 has ended.
Local supporters of the mine believe they are the silent majority, at risk of being drowned out by environmental activists. Some rallied at the site this month, holding signs that read “Part of the answer, not part of the problem” and “Cumbria coke is the real thing.”
“It’s been very simplified in the press that it’s jobs against the climate,” said John Greasley, who helps run a Facebook page in support of the mine. “And, of course, the climate is going to win every time. But it’s deeper than that."
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Lawless reported from London.
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Follow AP’s climate coverage at http://apnews.com/hub/climate
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