Mr Justice Holgate said in a ruling on Friday that granting planning permission for the development at Whitehaven in Cumbria would be “legally flawed”. Climate campaign group Friends of the Earth (FoE) and South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC) took legal action over the decision made by the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government which was led by Michael Gove when it was granted planning permission in 2022.
In July, the Government withdrew its defence but the developer of the proposed site, West Cumbria Mining (WCM) continued to oppose this claim, the PA News Agency reports. At a hearing during the same month, lawyers for FoE said the decision “smacked of hypocrisy”.
This was because the UK has “vocal international advocacy” over the phase-out of coal in energy systems. Lawyers for WCM said there’s been “repeated mischaracterisation” of the plans and the development would have a “broadly neutral effect on the global release of greenhouse gas”.
In his judgment, Mr Justice Holgate said: “The assumption that the proposed mine would not produce a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions, or would be a net zero mine, is legally flawed.” The court heard the mine was dubbed as net-zero and would extract metallurgical coal, used in steel-making.
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It was also told the Government had accepted approximately 15% of coal would be used domestically. When permission was granted in 2022, the Government withdrew its defence of the claim after the July General Election.
This followed a Supreme Court decision the previous month which said emissions created by burning fossil fuels should be considered when granting permission for new extraction sites. At the hearing in London, Paul Brown KC, for FoE, said in written submissions that there is “no significant need for the coal” as British Steel and Tata have moved to electric arc furnaces.
Estelle Dehon KC, for SLACC, added in written arguments that granting permission for the mine “whether purportedly net zero or not” would lower the country’s status as a “global climate leader”.
James Strachan KC, for WCM, said the arguments in the legal challenge were “poorly disguised attacks on the planning judgments made by the inspector and the secretary of state”, and that the net-zero aspect of the project would be positive.
A 48-page ruling stated Mr Justice Holgate said the Government “failed to deal” with the fact that “a positive precedent effect of a net zero mine leading to other similar projects would depend upon further offsetting arrangements; that would be undesirable because offsets are a finite resource”.
FoE said the judgment marked the first fossil fuel case decided, since the Supreme Court ruling earlier this year. Now, a decision on planning permission would now go back to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner for reconsideration.
Niall Toru, senior lawyer at FoE, said: “That the ruling today has gone against the mining company could have ramifications internationally, as there are cases abroad where challenges are being made against fossil fuel projects on a very similar basis.
“This mine should never have been given permission in the first place. The case against it is overwhelming: it would have huge climate impacts, its coal isn’t needed and it harms the UK’s international reputation on climate.
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“Any reconsideration of the planning application can surely only reach one conclusion – and reject this harmful mine once and for all. We believe that the writing is on the wall and that WCM should withdraw its application for this climate-wrecking project”.
Duncan Pollard, a trustee at SLACC, said: “It is now doubly clear that fossil fuel companies cannot ignore the combustion emissions caused by the use of their oil, gas or coal, or rely on simplistic claims that a new coal mine will have zero impact on global emissions.