We asked the Department about the recent decision to allow deep coal mining in Whitehaven, Cumbria and how this aligned with the government’s intention to move away from depending on fossil fuels and towards cleaner energy sources. The Department told us that the mine in question was for coking coal rather than producing power, a necessary fuel for steel production for which there is, currently, no green substitute. 11 Qq 18-19, 23 12 C&AG’s Report, para 2.2, Figure 6 13 Q 30; C&AG’s Report, ...

We asked the Department about the recent decision to allow deep coal mining in Whitehaven, Cumbria and how this aligned with the government’s intention to move away from depending on fossil fuels and towards cleaner energy sources. The Department told us that the mine in question was for coking coal rather than producing power, a necessary fuel for steel production for which there is, currently, no green substitute. 11 Qq 18-19, 23 12 C&AG’s Report, para 2.2, Figure 6 13 Q 30; C&AG’s Report, paras 3, 16, 3.15-3.16 14 Qq 31, 33, 45 15 Qq 58-60; C&AG’s Report, para 3.15 Achieving Net Zero 11 The Department stated that the steel industry was exp Type: conclusion | Number: 10 | Response status: under_consideration