The Labour Party's manifesto pledge “we will not grant new coal licences and will ban fracking for good.” follows a year of inside-track and public campaigning by Coal Action Network in the UK parliament and Welsh Senedd.

The UK’s last coal-fired power station closes this year, and last year is confirmed the hottest year on record. We’re pleased that the Labour Party has listened to our arguments, along with the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party, Plaid Cymru, and Scottish National Party which have also ruled out any new coal mining.

We'll work with whichever party forms the new Government on turning a policy ruling out new coal licences into a stronger statute. We hope the new Government will also address existing coal licences – for both operating mines, such as Aberpergwm (permission to mine until 2039), and proposed mines such as West Cumbria (permission to mine until 2049). The West Cumbria coal mine is an example of how coal mine licences can slip through the coal regulator, even when there is no domestic demand for the coal and it'll be exported to drive further climate chaos.

Coal is still the number one fossil fuel driver of climate change globally - we must lead my example, and a policy ruling out any more licences for coal mining is just that.