New British coal mine digs the UK Government into a hole

Boris Johnson’s government must choose between either its international or domestic policy platforms

The construction of Britain’s first deep coal mine in 30 years is sparking international controversy with potential far-reaching implications. Dr. Hansen, a top US climate scientist, has written a targeted letter to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging him to stop the mines construction ahead of the UK hosting the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) or else be globally “vilified”. He also specifically sent a copy to John Kerry the US Special Climate Envoy for President Joe Biden, who has placed tackling climate change at the heart of his presidency.

The Cumbrian mine is for coking coal used in steel manufacturing, rather than energy production, and claims to be “carbon neutral” in both facilitating clean emissions and in shortening the transport distances for coke and steel production. This though is disputed by among others the UK government’s own advisers. While given the go-ahead originally by the county council, the government have refused to intervene to stop it, likely because it would harm their domestic optics of delivering on key election promises regarding the ‘leveling up’ of northern England, as the mine would provide 500 jobs and pay into a community fund for 10 years in a deprived area of high unemployment.

But Dr. Hansen’s intervention has made this controversy international in scope now. Boris Johnson has placed at the heart of ‘Global Britain’, a commitment to lead on tackling climate change with a “world leading” radical green economy. In this way Britain hopes to build-up its international clout and create new economic opportunities by selling itself as an environmental leader. Hosting COP26 and making it a smooth success would be the signpost the government needs, and a key litmus test for post-Brexit Britain’s future success as a global green leader. This is no small task, as the previous COP25 ended in “failure” with no tangible agreements reached, and no political capital gained for any party.

Thus Dr. Hansen’s open letter presenting an authoritative counter-narrative to Britain’s green leadership pitch, and his facilitation of the Biden administration directly into this controversy, who has strained relations with the current British government has significant potential to scupper Britain’s much needed COP26 success and see its ‘green authority’ pitch fall apart at worst, or at least not be as impactful as a Post-Brexit Britain needs to secure the foreign support, influence and investment as it hopes from its green re-orientation.

The UK governments backing down on this issue though, would equally damage its domestic credentials, both in core voters perceiving that their sovereignty, a contentious topic from the Brexit debate, is being undermined by international pressure- this is a key political concern and priority recently for the British public. Also it would be perceived among the electorate that the government is publicly weakening on one of the few obvious material “leveling up” moves in northern England, angering its new and already restless northern backbench MP’s and key voters in a region which the Conservatives historic 2019 gains face an uphill struggle to be retained. With the government doubling down so far on refusing to cancel the mine, it seems this domestic concern has trumped the potential international losses, though this may change.