John Kerry, the US climate official, has said he is closely examining the UK government’s approval of a new coalmine, over concerns that it will raise greenhouse gas emissions and send the wrong signal to developing countries.
Kerry, Joe Biden’s special envoy for climate, said he was taking a close interest in the mine, the first to get the go-ahead in the UK for 30 years, and that he would speak out publicly against the approval if it did not meet strict criteria.
“I’m asking my people to give me a better download on exactly what the emissions implications are going to be,” he said in an interview on Friday evening.
“Coal is not exactly the direction that the world is trying to move in, or needs to move in. What I want to know is the level of abatement here [such as whether the resulting greenhouse gases will be captured and stored] and the comparison of this particular process in the production of steel,” he said.
The Woodhouse colliery, near Whitehaven in Cumbria, will produce coking coal for use in steel-making once in operation. The government has said it will be in line with the UK’s target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, partly because it is scheduled to close by the end of 2049, and because the emissions the mine and its coal produces will be less than alternatives such as importing coal.
However, analysis has shown that at least 83% of the 2.8m tonnes of coal the mine is likely to produce each year will be exported, as at least two leading British steel producers will not use it.
Kerry made it clear that continuing and expanding coal use was a serious problem for the climate, and one that the US was taking a strong stand against internationally.
“We are closing coal-fired power stations [in the US], we are not advocating unabated coal use. Unabated fossil-fuel burning is a problem – it is the problem, emissions are the problem,” he said.
He added that he would speak out against the development if US analysis found problems with the government’s assertions that the mine was needed and that the coal would be lower carbon than an alternative for steel-making.
Kerry’s concerns suggest that measures must be taken to capture and store emissions produced by the mine, and from the coal when it is burned. “If you can’t capture the emissions, it contributes further to the problem,” he said.
Asked if the UK was sending the wrong signals, after the Cop27 UN climate summit last month fell short of US hopes for a strong outcome on cutting emissions, Kerry said: “It depends exactly on the outcome of the statistical analysis that I want to see. And I guarantee you we will analyse it and share that point of view. And if we find something, we will say.”
Kerry noted that many developing countries had raised concerns at Cop27 over the behaviour of developed countries. “We already faced a challenge with some European countries and elsewhere that have been digging or pumping additional fossil fuel as a reaction to Ukraine and the energy prices. A lot of people are pointing the finger and saying: ‘You guys say: “Do as you say, not do as you do.”’ And that is a challenge in terms of credibility unless you have evidence that it doesn’t have that kind of impact,” he said.
Climate experts and campaigners from around the world have said the new mine proved the “hypocrisy” of the government in preaching climate action while failing to fulfil its promises.
Kerry was in London on Friday night to give the Fulbright lecture at King’s College London, in which he urged countries to move faster on cutting emissions, saying he was “disappointed” that more progress had not been made on this issue at Cop27.
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “This coal will be used for the production of steel and would otherwise need to be imported. The mine seeks to be net zero in its operations and is expected to contribute to local employment and the wider economy.”
