1/13 This thread is my summary of the Cumbria coal mine case, laying bare the many flawed and bogus arguments that have been made along the way, and including links to key documents on both sides.

2/13 Will the Cumbria be ‘carbon neutral’? No way – or not in any meaningful definition of that term. Emissions from use of coal are what matter and they are estimated at around 8m tonnes CO2 per year. That is HUGE.

3/13 Is the Cumbria coal mine, as @roberJenrick said, just a local issue. NO. 9m tonnes CO2 per year is of great national significance and the decision makes the UK look ridiculous in the eyes of the world as we host COP26 climate talks

4/13 Will transport emissions from UK coal be lower than from Australian coal? Yes but transport emissions are so trivial compared to the use of the coal that playing the transport argument has to be wilful misdirection of attention

5/13 Is it right, as claimed in the planning application, that the Cumbria coal mine won’t lead to an increase in global coal extraction? NO This claim about how the coal market works has been debunked as absurd by top economists including @paulekins https://bbc.in/3pklF6y 

6/13 Do we need coking coal for steel making? At the moment almost all steel is made this way but the whole of Europe’s steel industry plans to replace coal with hydrogen by 2050 or before, leaving the Cumbria coal mine high and dry.

7/13 Is there currently a shortage of coking coal? No there is plenty.

8/13 Will the Cumbria coal mine be an important source of jobs? The mine suggests but does not guarantee around 500 jobs (That is 160 tonnes CO2 per job per year). I estimate that <3% of revenue from the mine will go on employee pay.

9/13 Which side of the Cumbria coal mine case has deployed the highest level of impartial expertise in steel, coal, economics and climate to make its case? The argument against has been made by unpaid people who have brought in top level academics ….

10/13 …and industry experts (unpaid) wherever needed whereas the case for has been brought by a company with a strong financial interest, supported by one paid advisor who specialises in promoting Australian coal, and without academic support.

11/13 Where can I find the arguments on both sides? The planning application is here @Bankfieldbecky supported by me and others articulated the case against in a Green Alliance report here https://bbc.in/3pklF6y  , supported by letters from top independent experts….

12/13 …Our Green Alliance report was rebutted in a series of bogus statements a paid coal advocate. Our rebuttal to his rebuttal is here https://bit.ly/2YFfNZH  gives an evidenced-backed annihilation of almost every point that he made.

13/13 And finally, just to note that West Cumbria Mining’s own Environment ‘factsheet’ contains not a single mention of carbon, climate or emissions.