The British government announces a ban on new coal mines

The Britain announced on Thursday (November 14) that it will introduce legislation to ban new coal mines, as the Labor government steps up plans to make Britain a leader in clean energy.

The government said it will unveil the new law to restrict future permits for new coal mines “as soon as possible”, in what it called a “critical step” in the fight against climate change.

It comes after Britain’s last coal-fired power station, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, closed in October, making Britain the first G7 country to end its reliance on fossil fuels for electricity.

In a landmark ruling in September, British courts overturned a permit granted by the previous Conservative government to a project in Whitehaven, Cumbria, that would become the country’s first new coal mine in 30 years.

It would have mined metallurgical coal used exclusively for steelmaking.

Energy Secretary Michael Shanks said in a statement that “relegating coal energy to the past” would “pave the way for a clean, safe energy system that will protect bill payers and create a new generation of skilled workers.”

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Coal has gone from around 40 percent of Britain’s electricity supply in 2012 to zero percent today, the government said in a statement.

Labor won July’s general election promising to be more ambitious on policies aimed at meeting the UK’s climate change commitments, including pledging to decarbonise the electricity grid by 2030.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday in Baku, Azerbaijan for the UN climate change summit, that Britain aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 81 percent from 1990 levels by 2035, as part of the government’s plans to achieve net-zero emissions. 2050.

The centre-left government has also ended an effective Tory ban on new onshore wind projects and new oil and gas exploration permits in the North Sea. AFP