A PETITION to scrap plans for the new Woodhouse Colliery in West Cumbria has reached over 67,000 signatures as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) renewed its climate change warning.

A report from the IPCC, published this week, said that it will be impossible to meet the internationally agreed target of stopping the global average temperature exceeding 1.5C above pre-industrial levels if CO2 emissions from existing fossil fuel infrastructure are not reduced.

To meet this target requires 'deep and drastic emissions cuts' across all sectors of society, according to the IPCC.

The petition has been organised by Friends of the Earth who, instead of the proposed new pit, have called for  ‘desperately needed’ renewable energy and home insulation in west Cumbria which they claim could provide hundreds of jobs in the region.

Proponents of the mine have said that it will bring hundreds of jobs and millions of pounds of investment to west Cumbria and provide a sure supply of coal to help support the British steel industry.

However, the publication of the latest report has led to Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas to call for the cancellation of the new coal mine.

“The IPCC is spot on – the fossil fuel era is over,” said Ms Lucas.

“So, if our own Government is to heed this warning, it must cancel the Cumbria coal mine and unblock onshore wind and solar with immediate effect.

“Current policies are projected to heat the Earth to 3.2C above pre-industrial levels, which could set off dangerous and unpredictable tipping points such as melting of the polar ice caps, scientists have previously warned.

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"The evidence is clear, and the solutions are here – this is our last chance to secure our survival.”

A Government spokesperson said: “Today’s report makes clear that nations around the world must work towards far more ambitious climate commitments ahead of Cop28.

“The UK is a world leader in working towards net zero, but we need to go further and faster.

“That is why we are committing to building more wind, solar and nuclear capacity, as well as driving forward hydrogen and CCUS, supporting up to 480,000 well-paid green jobs, and leveraging up to £100 billion of private investment by 2030.

“This will bolster our energy security and help ensure we bring down wholesale electricity prices to among the lowest in Europe.”