The government has made the wrong choice in approving the Whitehaven coal mine. It will add to damaging climate change exactly when we need to be adopting new, clean technologies for steel production instead of polluting fossil fuels and flies in the face of promises made at the UN climate summit hosted by the UK government last year.
West Cumbria needs new jobs and people may have welcomed the mine for that reason, but it is extremely unlikely it will have the lifespan that West Cumbria Mining has suggested. Instead, we could be growing the industries that are crucial to our future and which help to create a better world. We know from independent research that we could have decent, long-term, well-paid jobs in Cumbria in the industries of the future – like installing and maintaining wind turbines, solar panels and heat pumps, driving ahead with the switch to electric vehicles, and insulating homes so that they’re warm and cheap to run for families.
The evidence could not be clearer that we must stop digging up and burning fossil fuels in order to protect the world that we and future generations rely on for our health and wellbeing. The potential is here for Cumbria to shift its path to a better future, with the right training opportunities, investment, collaboration, resources and planning.
See CAfS research report The Potential for Green Jobs in Cumbria report