Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the environmental impact of the new Woodhouse Colliery, in particular on their target set out in the Paris Agreement to limit climate temperature rises to below two degrees centigrade.

The UK is committed to delivering the ambition of the Paris Agreement. The Climate Change Act committed the UK to reducing emissions by at least 80% compared to 1990 levels and we are phasing out the use of unabated coal for electricity generation by 2025. In response to the IPCC Special Report on 1.5°C, we have asked the Climate Change Committee to advise on whether further action is needed.

Cumbria County Council took the decision to grant planning permission for the Woodhouse Colliery, subject to the completion of a section 106 planning obligation. It was the Council’s responsibility to consider this application in its role as minerals planning authority, and the Council would have considered all relevant material considerations, including environmental impacts, before reaching their decision.