Senior steel industry figures have rejected claims that their demand for coal led to the government’s controversial decision to sanction the UK’s first new coal mine in 30 years.
Secretary Michael Gove’s decision to approve the Whitehaven mine in Cumbria last week has already met with a backlash in the UK and beyond, with John Kerry, Joe Biden’s special climate envoy, warning he was scrutinizing the decision.
Government officials insisted that the coal produced by the mine would be used to make steel, while other supporters said the steel industry would need a source of coal that was produced domestically.
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Mark Jenkinson, a local Tory MP backing the project, said there was “no way to make new steel without it”. He added: “Steel is at the heart of every single renewable technology we need to use to reach our net-zero goal. It makes no sense to import all our coking coal, which would be an abdication of our climate commitments.
However, industry experts insisted that demand for coal by British and European steelmakers was a myth that had been repeated for years. “The UK steel industry has been clear that coal from the West Cumbria mine has limited potential due to its high sulfur levels,” said Chris McDonald, chief executive of the Materials Processing Institute, which serves as the UK’s national center for research of the steel.
“This, combined with the industry’s drive to decarbonise, means that by the time the mine opens, only one in four current blast furnaces in the UK is likely to be able to use this coal, meaning more than 90% of output will be exported. The situation is the same in Europe, with even tighter sulfur controls and a faster push towards green steel, meaning some companies will move away from coal entirely by the mid-2030s.
Industry insiders also pointed out that even on the day the mine got the go-ahead, a European steelmaker announced plans to phase out steel made from coking coal. German steelmaker Salzgitter has announced plans to sell green steel by 2025 and be completely carbon zero by 2033.
In its report to ministers, the Planning Inspectorate said the mine would have an “overall neutral effect on climate change”. It said the amount of coal used in steelmaking would be “broadly the same with or without”. However, legal challenges to the decision are being prepared, with campaigners saying it runs counter to the government’s own climate commitments.
Opponents also questioned the idea that demand for steel justified the mine. “The idea that this mine is necessary is a myth,” said Tony Bosworth of Friends of the Earth. “With European steelmakers already switching to greener production and UK steelmakers planning to do the same, the market for this coal has been shrinking even before the mine was opened.
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“If the government wants to support a modern UK steel industry, it should help it to be competitive by going green, not protect a climate-destroying coal mine that the industry neither wants nor needs.”
There are suspicions in Westminster among both Labor and Tory critics that the decision was driven solely by the promised jobs the project would bring to the area and boost the government’s image as a “red wall”. The mine will produce approximately 400,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year, increasing UK emissions by the equivalent of putting 200,000 cars on the road.
Before the decision was made, Alok Sharma, whose chairmanship of Cop26 ended last month, told the Observer that he remained opposed to the project. “Over the last three years, the UK has tried to persuade other nations to leave coal in history because we are fighting to limit global warming to 1.5C and coal is the most polluting energy source,” Sharma said. “The decision to open a new coal mine would send completely the wrong message and would be an own goal. This proposed new mine will have no impact on reducing energy bills or ensuring our energy security.
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