Cumbrian Coal Mine Challenge

• Law Firm: Jones Day
• Subject Matter: Environment, Environmental Law, Climate Change
• Author: Mr Chris Papanicolaou and Will Land
• Published date: 06 March 2023

A controversial decision to approve a new coal mine in Cumbria, England, which will seek to supply coking coal to be used in the steel-making industry, is being challenged. Friends of the Earth ("FOE") and the South Lakes Action on Climate Change have filed separate High Court applications seeking a statutory review of the UK government's approval decision. As their grounds overlap, the claimants have requested the cases are heard together.

This challenge follows a public inquiry in which the Secretary of State, as decision maker, had to consider evidence on a variety of climate change matters, including the acceptability of carbon credits to offset the mine's emissions, the international precedent that opening a new coal mine would set, and the impact of opening the mine on the global coal market. FOE launched its legal challenge on the following four grounds:

Ground 1: Approach to considering the effect of the development on the UK's Sixth Carbon Budget. The mining company had entered into a legal agreement requiring it to buy international carbon credits to offset residual mine emissions. In his decision letter, the Secretary of State concluded that this would mean the mine would be net zero as there would be no net increase in carbon emissions from coking coal as a result of the mine. FOE contends that this conclusion was wrong and unlawful, as offset credits do not count towards the UK's carbon budgets.

Ground 2: Approach to considering the international impacts of the decision. At the public inquiry, FOE argued that granting permission would undermine the UK's global reputation on tackling climate change and damage its ability to influence others to cut emissions, as well as setting a bad precedent that might lead to an increase in global emissions. The decision did not address these international impacts.

Ground 3: Approach to "substitution" of coal and the global coal...