Friends of the Earth has said it will take legal action against the UK government after ministers granted planning permission for a new coalmine in Cumbria. The environmental campaign group said it would file its claim against the fossil fuel extraction project later this month. Niall Toru, a lawyer at Friends of the Earth, said: “By giving the go-ahead to this polluting and totally unnecessary coalmine, the government has not only made the wrong decision for our economy and the climate, we believe it has also acted unlawfully. “Michael Gove has failed to account for the significant climate impacts of this mine or how the much-needed move to green steelmaking will be impacted by its approval. With the world facing a climate emergency, we shouldn’t have to take this challenge to court. Any sensible government should be choosing to leave coal in the ground, and accelerating the transition to a safe, clean and sustainable future.” Rowan Smith, a solicitor at the law firm Leigh Day, said: “A critical issue raised by Friends of the Earth during the inquiry was the signal that granting a new coalmine in the middle of a climate emergency would send to the rest of the world. Friends of the Earth believes that this was never properly grappled with by either the inspector or the secretary of state. We hope that the court will agree that this argument justifies a full hearing.”