Big fuss about a new coal mine opening in Cumbria. Quite interesting seeing how much interest this is stirring up.
The case for Scottish independence calls for maximising oil extraction – it makes the coal mine in Cumbria look like a little blip. Have you seen that in the news? It has been there, honestly. There have been protests about increased extraction. I must admit I hardly noticed it, I only found it because I was looking at the SNP extraction policy.
This is one of the gaps in our carbon policy – we are focussing so much on reducing consumption, but still extracting fossil fuels for others to burn. We need to focus on both.
But as I think about the fight against the new coal mine I think back to the Thatcher years – the fight against Scargill and the closure of the UK coal industry. What was wrong with that policy? It reduced our extraction.
The problem is it destroyed communities. What was missing was something called a “just transition”. But not just the one devised for workers, we needed one that covers society.
And maybe this is something we need to adopt for our post-COVID society.