Activists protest against a new licensing extension for 40 million tonnes of coal at Aberpergwm, Neath Valley.
Over 50 Extinction Rebellion activists from across Wales and England have protested at the Aberpergwm colliery in the Neath Valley today, Friday 11th March.
The group says that activists have climbed the roof of office buildings and locked themselves together in the Energybuild office, the company who owns the mine.
The protest comes after it was announced that a new extension to the coal mine could see 1.17 million tonnes of the greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere at a time of rapid climate breakdown.
Energybuild Mining Limited, the company who owns the mine, have said it is the “only source of high-grade anthracite in Western Europe,” and that the licence will enable the excavation of 40 million tonnes of anthracite, also known as hard coal, over the next 20 years.
This would completely undermine any hopes of Wales being a zero-carbon country by the middle of the century.
The Welsh Government have said they disapprove of the planned extension but do not have control over the final permits for work to begin, something which they are currently in dispute with the UK Government over.
Extinction Rebellion say Welsh Government must stop the mining going ahead and that the focus needs to be on helping workers to transition into more sustainable jobs, rather than releasing 1.17 million tonnes of the very strong greenhouse gas, methane, into the atmosphere.
Extinction Rebellion Cymru helped force the Welsh Government to declare a climate emergency in 2019, but since then, the group says that the Welsh Government have been slow to act and say the licence extension would blow apart their aim of achieving net zero before 2050.
Extinction Rebellion are asking people who are concerned about a just transition for workers to write to their Member of the Senedd and their MP to urge them to speak out against the licence extension.
A rally has also been called at the Senedd at 2pm on Wednesday, 16th March, where environmental groups are coming together under the banner of “Coal Free Future Cymru”.
Anthony Slaughter, Leader of the Welsh Green Party, who will address the rally, said:
“The Coal Authority decision to grant an extension of the coal mining licence at Aberpergwm colliery is a disastrous setback to the challenge of reaching carbon net zero by 2050, a target endorsed by both the Welsh and UK governments. The attempts by both governments to avoid responsibility for this decision is a betrayal of future generations.
The licence extension will allow Energybuild Ltd to extract a further 40 million tonnes of coal until 2039, emitting an estimated 100 million tonnes of CO2 and up to 1.7 million tonnes of methane. This at a time when plans for carbon reduction in Wales needs to be greatly accelerated.
2050 is no longer a distant date in the future. We need to take urgent and meaningful action towards decarbonization across all sectors in Wales. Old fashioned, dirty, polluting ‘business as usual is no longer an option.”
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