The government has admitted that a proposed coalmine in Cumbria was approved unlawfully, as the carbon emissions of coal from the mine should have been taken into account in the planning decision.
This follows a precedent set by a supreme court judgment last month, when Surrey county council’s decision to extend planning permission for an oil drilling well at Horse Hill, on the Weald, was quashed.
Campaigners argued it should have accounted for greenhouse gas emissions from using the oil when assessing the environmental impacts of the project, not only the drilling site itself. These are known as “scope 3” or downstream emissions.
On Thursday, another oil drilling project – this time in the Lincolnshire Wolds area of outstanding natural beauty – was quashed after a concession from Angela Rayner, secretary of state for housing, communities and local government.
Hours later, lawyers acting for Rayner’s department said there was an “error in law” in the decision to grant planning permission for the Cumbrian mine in December 2022. The government will now not be defending two legal challenges by Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change (Slacc) next week, and has instead informed the court that the decision to grant planning permission should be quashed.
The case is still expected to go ahead on Tuesday unless West Cumbria Mining also concedes.
Experts have said the mine would be likely to cause the UK to break its legally binding climate commitments as it would release about 17,500 tonnes of methane every year, according to estimates. The mine, which would have produced coking coal for steelmaking, was claimed to be carbon neutral by the previous government, though this only applies to the mining operations and does not take account of the scope 3 emissions.
The new government has a range of difficult decisions to make on energy, including whether to approve the oil and gas licences that are already in progress with the North Sea Transition Authority, and whether to grant the biofuel company Drax more government subsidies for burning wood.
Jamie Peters, a climate coordinator with Friends of the Earth, said: “We’re delighted the government agrees that planning permission for this destructive, polluting and unnecessary coalmine was unlawfully granted and that it should be quashed. We hope the court agrees, and that the mine is then rejected when the secretary of state reconsiders the application.
“Friends of the Earth will continue to stand alongside Slacc and the other community groups in Cumbria who have fought so bravely to halt this mine. The new government must now ensure that areas like west Cumbria get the jobs and investment they urgently need so that people living there can reap the benefits of building a clean, green and affordable future.”
West Cumbria Mining has been contacted for comment.