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Extinction Rebellion Shuts Down UK Coal Mine Operating Without License
"The authorities are missing in action," said one campaigner. "If they won't step in to stop illegal, planet-wrecking coal mining, we will."
Jul 05, 2023
On the heels of the world's two hottest days on record, U.K. climate activists on Wednesday shut down an open-cast coal mine in Wales that has been operating without a license since last summer.
"We have today done what the Welsh government, the U.K. government, and the local council have failed to do—shut down the operations of the U.K.'s largest coal mine which has been operating without a license since September last year," Extinction Rebellion (XR) activist Marcus Bailie of Caerphilly said in a statement.
The 68-year-old is among Extinction Rebellion's Cymru/Wales and U.K. members who locked themselves to the group's pink boat, which was used to blockade the access road between the Ffos-y-Fran mine and its depot early Wednesday. Because of the new "Public Order Act," the activists face the threat of up to 51 weeks in jail.
"We aim to stop operations until at least the weekend and we are calling for as many people as possible to come down to support us and make this happen."
"We aim to stop operations until at least the weekend and we are calling for as many people as possible to come down to support us and make this happen," Bailie explained. "It would be crazy if the mine owner or the government instructed the police to move against us just so the mine owners can continue what is an illegal operation."
While sitting on top of the boat, Liz Pendleton of XR United Kingdom declared: "The authorities are missing in action. If they won't step in to stop illegal, planet-wrecking coal mining, we will."
Permission for coal mining at Ffos-y-Fran was initially granted in 2005. Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd., the company behind the mine, hoped to extend operations until March 2024 and push its promised restoration of the site to June 2026.
A local council in April rejected the proposed extension and in May issued a notice to end coal extraction at the mine. That notice took effect last week, giving Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd. 28 days to stop digging, but the company is now appealing.
As the BBC reported last week:
The Welsh government said on Wednesday morning it understood the company was appealing.
A spokesman added that it could not comment further as it may "jeopardize any future decision Welsh ministers may have to make on the matter."
Mining firm Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd confirmed an appeal had "been lodged with the Welsh ministers" and said it could not comment further while the appeal process was ongoing.
"We are extremely disappointed, and frustrated, to hear that the mining company has appealed the enforcement action," Chris Austin, who lives near the mine and has campaigned against it as part of the United Valleys Action Group, told the BBC. "If accepted, the appeal could take 12 months or more to resolve, so we again urge that a 'stop order' be put in place whilst this appeal is determined."
Mel Price, who also lives near the site and joined XR's action, said Wednesday that "the mine owners have drawn millions in dividends while local residents have to tolerate all the noise and pollution caused by an illegal mine. The carbon emissions continue and the scar on the landscape gets bigger."
"The government and the legal system are prepared to lock up peaceful protesters for trying to stop fossil fuel companies and investors from profiting from the destruction of our planet, yet they are not prepared to stop illegal mining, so we are making a stand," Price continued. "If the police decide to arrest us, they will be acting without probable cause and against their own interests as they are the ones who will have to rescue people from the floods and the fires—is this what we really want?"
"The law of aggravated trespass is quite clear in that it must be obstruction of a lawful activity and it is quite clear that this mine is operating illegally," Price added. "So, the decision will have to be made by the authorities about, 'Who are the criminals here?'"
In addition to XR's boat blockade, a group called No More Coal is organizing a peaceful march on the mine for Saturday morning.
Given that the mining company has kept operating for months and "no one seems able to stop them," Bailie said, "we've had to take matters into our own hands by coming here to demand they stop extracting and shipping coal immediately and for good."
"We encourage hundreds, even thousands, of people to come from all over the country to march on Ffos-y-Fran to tell them that we, the people, say no more," the activist added, pointing to Saturday's event.
The coal protest came after The Guardian reported Tuesday that the Conservative U.K. government plans to drop its £11.6 billion ($14.75 billion) international climate pledge. The newspaper noted Wednesday that "although the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) said such claims were 'false,' a leaked briefing showed that ministers were being prepared for the target not being met because of government cuts to aid funding, underspending, and new commitments such as aid for Ukraine."
The reporting outraged climate campaigners, including branches of Extinction Rebellion. XR Islington charged that "this is murderous madness" while the Havering group tweeted that "'saving' money is a lie and a false economy when it comes to climate action. The cost is not just in money but in human suffering. Inaction will cost us and the rest of the world far more in the long run."
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UK's Secret TTIP Assessment: No Benefits, Plenty of Risks
'Yet again this toxic trade deal is exposed as being full of harmful consequences for ordinary people'
Apr 26, 2016
The TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) would have "lots of risks and no benefits" for the UK, according to a government analysis released publicly Monday through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the advocacy group Global Justice Now.
The only assessment of the TTIP conducted by the UK government on the risk of introducing a closed corporate court system described as "investor protection" found that:
- There is little reason to think an EU-US investment chapter will provide the UK with significant economic benefits.
- There is little reason to think an EU-US investment chapter will provide the UK with significant political benefits.
- There is some reason to expect an EU-US investment chapter to impose meaningful economic costs on the UK. Based on Canada's experience under NAFTA, we would expect US investors to regularly invoke an EU-US investment chapter against the UK for governmental actions that would normally not be challengeable under UK law.
"All in all, it is doubtful UK investors will find additional protections from an EU-US investment protection treaty beyond those currently provided, and enforced, under U.S. law," according to the 2013 study (pdf), conducted by the London School of Economics and commissioned by the government's Department for Business Industry and Skills (BIS).
Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now, said, "Introducing a system of secret corporate courts under the TTIP would be a fundamental shift in trade and legal policies, so it's staggering that the government is pushing us into it with almost no assessment of what the risks are for our policymakers or the taxpayers. What's even worse is that the one assessment the government has commissioned shows that there are many risks and no benefit."
"Yet again this toxic trade deal is exposed as being full of harmful consequences for ordinary people, and new powers and privileges for corporate elites," Dearden said.
War on Want campaign director John Hilary told Morning Star, "This confirms that David Cameron has been misleading British citizens when talking up the benefits of TTIP."
"We have challenged the UK government time and again to show us any evidence that TTIP will be good for ordinary people," Hilary said. "Now we know why it has failed to provide that evidence--because they have none."
Opponents of TTIP fear that the investor protection component, formally known as the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), would give corporations the power to sue governments over national policies that affect the companies' profits.
For example, under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which includes similar investor protections, tobacco giant Philip Morris sued Uruguay and Australia in 2010 and 2012, respectively, over their health warnings on cigarette packages. Australia won its legal battle against the company in December 2015, while the fight in Uruguay remains ongoing.
Monday's revelations came as U.S. President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande, and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi convened in Germany to discuss the deal. Over the weekend, Obama attempted to peddle the TTIP as an "indisputable" benefit to the economy.
TTIP negotiators are in New York now until Friday for the 13th round of talks on the deal.
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UK Privatization Puts Final Nail in Royal Mail's Coffin
Leading trade union decries sell-off, saying Tory party 'has made it abundantly clear that they are only interested in privatization dogma and making the rich richer'
Oct 12, 2015
Workers are decrying the demise of "one of the great inventions of our social history" after the British government announced on Monday that it was completing the privatization of the UK's state-run mail service by selling off its final 14 percent stake.
In a press statement, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills said that "current market conditions should allow a successful sale," Guardian reporting indicated that banks are hopeful the shares would be sold for less than a 5 percent discount on the Royal Mail's share price.
Since the Royal Mail sell-off was first announced in 2013, it has been criticized by the country's leading trade unions as a deal where only "the rich get richer."
On Monday, the Communications Workers Union (CWU) issued a statement saying the privatization underscores the Tory party's commitment to austerity "ideology" over the interests of the British people.
"This fire sale nails the lie that the Tories stand up for the interests of ordinary people," said CWU general secretary Dave Ward. "By their actions today, they have made it abundantly clear that they are only interested in privatizing dogma and making the rich richer- even when their actions place public services at risk."
In June, the UK government sold half of its then-remaining stake, roughly 15 percent. Ward said this final portion "should have been used to safeguard the public's voice in Royal Mail and ensure the continuation of daily deliveries to every address in the country."
"The Tories have instead chosen and ideological course that puts the fundamental ethos of a centuries old national institution in jeopardy," he added.
The announcement comes one week after the recently-elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gave a rousing speech demanding that the remaining shares be kept in public control.
"Our party is committed to opposing austerity, committed to opposing the privatization of Royal Mail, committed to the public control of Royal Mail and other public services," he told a rally outside Manchester Cathedral. "We must demand immediately an end to the whole notion to the sale of the remaining 15 percent that is publicly owned--keep it public, keep it safe, keep it ours."
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