Rachel Featherstone, Green Party lead candidate for the North East, is tonight to visit the site of the proposed Dewley Hill open cast coal mine in Northumberland.
She will be marking the release of figures today showing that existing coal stockpiles in the UK are more than double the level needed required until 2025, when the government is committed to completely ending coal-fired electricity generation.
Rachel said: “The issue of coal mining is of great concern in the North East, where not only Dewley Hill buts also our treasured Druridge Bay is threatened by a proposed new open cut coal mine, despite strong local opposition.
“But this is a national issue. The parliament has declared a climate emergency, but we are still in danger of not just losing wonderful natural environments, but also further driving greenhouse gas emissions globally by exporting coal, when we should be ensuring no more is removed from the ground.
“Proponents of coal try to argue that their mines will ensure we aren’t importing coal for the final days of its use. This important work by Friends of the Earth and the Coal Action Network blows that claim away.
“The government has often talked about promoting carbon capture and storage from fossil fuel burning, but there is no need for new technology. Nature has already done the storage for us, if we just leave the fossil fuels in the ground.”