Climate campaigners Coal Action Network (CAN) are this week appealing a judge’s ruling that effectively gives the green light to the extension of a coal mine at Aberpergwm in south Wales.

Last year, the campaigners took the Welsh Government and mining regulator the Coal Authority to court over the way they handled an application by the mine operator Energybuild to extend its extraction area by 1,460 hectares, and digging up as much as 42 million extra tonnes of coal.

The Coal Authority approved the extension of the licence in January 2022. It claimed it had no power to refuse the licence as long as applicants met the criteria set by the 1994 Coal Industry Act.