However, in February 2021, progress was suspended after UKCCC warned the government that steel-making shouldn't use coal after 2035 if the UK wants to meet its climate targets. The council had granted permission to dig until 2049. The Planning Inspectorate reviewed the original decision, and sent a report to Communities Secretary Michael Gove - who has now approved the project. Mr Gove claims the coal mine would "to some extent, support the transition to a low-carbon future". But UKCCC chair Lord Deben previously called the proposal "indefensible". He warned that its approval would damage the UK's leadership on climate change, and "create another example of Britain saying one thing and doing another". The UK hosted the 2021 UN climate summit COP26, where it got countries to pledge to reduce their use of coal. Dr Sugandha Srivastav from University of Oxford said the new mine's approval will be seen as "extremely hypocritical". Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-56023895 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/06/new-cumbrian-coalmine-would-prove-uk-hypocrisy-say-experts-around-world