“Gone are the days when mining benefitted millions,” said Ellen Gibson, one of the activists locked-on at the front gate, “now open-cast mining lines the pockets of millionaires like climate skeptic Lord Ridley, whilst destroying the landscape and cooking the planet.” An estimated 10 percent of native coal burned in Britain comes from Ridley’s ancestral estate. He is also a member of the influential Science and Technology Committee in the House of Lords and regular columnist in The Times newspaper.

“We need to keep 80% of all known fossil fuels in the ground if we’re to prevent catastrophic climate change, and coal is the dirtiest fuel of all,” Gibson added. The protesters are hoping to spark a wave of similar civil disobedience actions ahead of the upcoming United Nations climate talks, which will begin at the end of next month, and will be partaking in the Climate Games direct actions, which will be held in Paris during the international summit.

Updates on the Shotton mine shutdown can be found online under the hashtag #endcoal.

#endcoal Tweets

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