Britain calls for an end to coal at climate talks – yet approves fracking and coal mining at home

The UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Bonn, Germany, will end tomorrow. On the penultimate day of talks, Britain, along with Canada, will defy US support for dirty energy. Instead, as part of a global alliance, it will lobby to phase out coal. This alliance to move away from coal began through bilateral cooperation between Theresa May and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in September.

Commenting, Rachel Kennerley, Friends of the Earth climate campaigner, said:

"The UK is positioning itself as a climate leader by encouraging others to phase out coal – and clearly that is good news. But at the same time it's green-lighting fracking which will open up a whole new dirty energy industry.

“It’s pure and simple hypocrisy. For the UK to have any authority we have to stop chasing a fracking pipe-dream and stop digging up coal. One instant win is for the government to reject the massively damaging coal mine proposal at Druridge Bay. This would do more than send a message: it would actually end coal extraction.”

“It’s time Britain dropped fracking, put an end to coal, and invested in renewables. This is the winning combination that will combat dangerous climate change.”