The UK government has approved the
country's first new deep coal mine in 30 years. Michael Gove, the Secretary for
Leveling Up, gave the green light for the project at the beginning of December,
paving the way for an estimated investment of £165m that will create around 500
new jobs in the region and produce 2.8 million tonnes of coking coal annually,
primarily for steelmaking. However, the mine is also expected to produce
approximately 400,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent
to adding 200,000 cars to the road.
The
majority of the coal produced will be for export, as most UK steel producers
have rejected the use of the high-sulphur coal, which is surplus to their
needs. While the coal from the mine will not be used for electricity
generation, it will be used in steel production. Steelmaking typically involves
heating coal to high temperatures and combining it with iron, with approximately
770kg of coal needed to produce one tonne of steel. The UK produces 7.4 million
tonnes of steel annually.
The
mine has faced controversy, with initial approval granted by Cumbria County
Council in October 2020. West Cumbria Mining, the company behind the project,
promised to create 500 direct jobs and 1,500 indirect jobs in the local
community. However, critics have questioned these figures, and the project has
been supported by over 40 Conservative MPs.
The
UK has a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 78% by 2035 in order to
combat climate change. The steel industry, which was responsible for 12 million
tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2019, equivalent to 2.7% of the UK's total
greenhouse gas emissions, must significantly reduce its emissions in order to
meet this goal. The UK's Climate Change Committee has stated that if steel
firms do not stop burning coal by 2035, they will need to use expensive
technology to capture and bury the emissions underground.
There
are alternatives to coal in steel production, such as electric arc furnaces
(EAF) and hydrogen. EAFs generate fewer emissions by using electricity to melt
scrap steel, reducing the amount of coal and fossil fuels needed for heat
production. The use of hydrogen can reduce emissions by 61%, from 1.8 tonnes of
carbon dioxide per tonne of steel to 0.7 tonnes, according to the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development. However, the International Energy
Agency has warned that these technologies are not yet fully developed, and
governments must create a market for "near-zero emissions
steel."
Currently,
41% of European steel is produced using the EAF process, while hydrogen is used
in 10% of global production. While the UK, along with China, India, Japan, and
the US, are major steel producers, they continue to use coal in their steel
industries. China, the largest producer of steel, produced over one billion
tonnes in 2021, while the UK produced 7.4 million. However, agreements made at
the COP26 climate talks demonstrated a commitment to moving away from fossil
fuels. China has set a target to reduce steel production by 3% and expects its
coal use in the steel industry to peak by 2024. C
Some
countries, however, have delayed the transition away from fossil fuels due to
concerns about rising prices during an ongoing cost-of-living crisis. Sir David
King, Founder and Chair of the UK's Climate Change Committee, has stated that
the Cumbria coal mine "sends the wrong message" and that the UK needs
to be "phasing out coal use, not opening new mines." The approval of
the mine has been criticized by environmental groups and climate activists, who
argue that it is incompatible with the UK's commitment to net zero emissions by
2050.