Communities and Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove has approved the first new UK coal mine in 30 years, despite concern about its climate impact.
The proposed mine in Cumbria would dig up coking coal for steel production in the UK and across the world.
The BBC reports that critics say the mine would undermine climate targets, and that demand for coking coal is declining.
But supporters claim the mine, near Whitehaven, will create jobs and reduce the need to import coal.
The fate of the West Cumbria Mining project had been hanging in the balance for two years after the local county council initially approved the mine in 2020.
The project's approval was suspended in early 2021, ahead of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, after the government's climate-change adviser said it would increase carbon emissions.
Most coal to be exported
The government's advisory Climate Change Committee (CCC) pointed out that 85% of the coal produced by the mine would be exported.
Lord Deben, chairman of the CCC, branded the proposal "absolutely indefensible" and said its approval would damage the UK's leadership on climate change.
Planning authorities reviewed the original decision and sent a report to Mr Gove to review and make a final judgement.
A letter outlining the decision said he agreed with the planning inspector's recommendation to approve the mine.
The letter says Mr Gove was "satisfied that there is currently a UK and European market for the coal".
He agrees with the assessment that the effects of the development on carbon emissions "would be relatively neutral and not significant".
'Consistent' decision
Mr Gove's department said the decision was consistent with the government's policies on curbing carbon emissions.
But opposition parties and environmental groups condemned the decision as harmful for the climate and the UK's transition to a greener economy.
Friends of the Earth said the decision was a "misguided and deeply-damaging mistake that flies in the face of all the evidence".
"The mine isn't needed, will add to global climate emissions, and won't replace Russian coal," Friends of the Earth campaigner Tony Bosworth told the BBC.
Coal is the dirtiest of all fossil fuels, producing almost twice the emissions of natural gas.
West Cumbria Mining says the coking coal it produces will be used for steelmaking in the UK and Europe.
500 jobs expected
The local council had granted permission to dig for coking coal until 2049, with the mine expected to create about 500 jobs.
But the two companies that still make steel using coal in the UK - British Steel and Tata - say they plan to move to lower carbon-production methods.
Steel industry expert Chris McDonald estimates that, at best, they will use less than 10% of the output of the mine and, by the mid-2030s, none at all.
That means the new mine will export virtually all the coal it produces.
The decision could expose divisions within the Tories, whose greener MPs have spoken out against the plans.
But some northern Tory MPs had campaigned for the mine on the basis it would provide jobs and investment.