Wednesday was a not a bad day for action against the coal industry. The acquittal of the Kingsnorth six paved the way for further actions and served as a searing indictment of government energy policy. And a couple of other goings on are worth mentioning ...

From John Vidal, The Guardian:

“Some groups could not even wait for yesterday’s verdict. Even as the jury was deliberating on Wednesday afternoon in Maidstone, Welsh climate change activists along with angry villagers invaded the Hilton hotel in Cardiff where directors of an open-cast mine were meeting.

“It’s odds on the Welsh activists will not be given a jury trial, and they certainly won’t be invited to the next banquet in Mansion House.”

The event in question was the annual general meeting of the Coal Authority, an industry body funded by the taxpayer, which aims, among other things, to promote the expansion of coal mining and prolong the life of aging power stations in the UK. And considering the technology required for full-scale, commercially-viable capture of the carbon emissions from this stuff “might never become available” according to our very own Chancellor; will be prohibitively expensive even if available; and considering the conclusion of Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee that “Coal should be seen as the last resort, even with the promise of CCS”, there is, shall we say, something of a conflict of interest between the promotion of this industry and a safe, sustainable future for human beings.

From ITV local news:

More coverage is available, as ever, from The Coal Hole.