But critics argue it is at odds with the UK’s commitments to radically reduce the amount of warming gases like carbon dioxide it produces that contribute to climate change.
The government has signed up to not add any more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere by 2050, and reduce emissions by 68% by 2030.
Chris Stark, the former head of the Climate Change Committee, which monitors the government’s record on climate, criticised the decision to allow the mine to go ahead.
In 2021 he said the mine “will increase global emissions and have an appreciable impact on the UK’s legally binding carbon budgets”.
Campaigners against the mine welcomed the news. Maggie Mason, who leads the South Lakes Action on Climate Change group, said: “Building the mine on an old chemical site close to homes and the Irish Sea was also risky. West Cumbrians deserve jobs that don’t cost the earth,” she said.
Friends of the Earth climate co-ordinator Jamie Peters said: “We’re delighted the government agrees that planning permission for this destructive, polluting and unnecessary coal mine was unlawfully granted and that it should be quashed.
“We hope the court agrees, and that the mine is then rejected when the secretary of state reconsiders the application.
“The new government must now ensure that areas like West Cumbria get the jobs and investment they urgently need so that people living there can reap the benefits of building a clean, green and affordable future.”
The High Court will now decide if the original planning decision should be overturned.
According to Friends of the Earth, if the court rules next week that the decision was incorrect, the planning application will go back to the secretary of state to make a fresh decision.
The decision throws into doubt whether the coalmine will ultimately get the go-ahead.
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