Coal is at a crossroads in the UK. On the one hand, the UK's dirtiest power stations burn vast quantities of coal, with little or no regard for the human and environmental impacts that this has. On the other, the UK Government has announced an intention to "consult" over proposals to close remaining coal fired power stations by 2025; coal's contribution to the UK's energy mix is in decline, as is the domestic coal mining industry, and indeed the volume of coal imported from elsewhere in the world.

This report aims to “follow the coal” in order to expose the impacts of the coal burned in UK power stations. CAN concludes that regardless of where coal is sourced from, the negative impacts of its extraction on communities and their environment heavily supports the argument that the UK must choose a swift and total phase out of coal now.

In 2014 the contribution of coal to the UK's energy mix fell to a low of 30%, equalling that of gas. There is an international move away from coal, which is the most carbon­intensive fossil fuel.

Coal is transported to 12 UK coal­fired power stations, three of which have announced that they will close in March 2016. The futures of the the remaining 9 are uncertain: they will have to adapt and invest in order to comply with new EU air pollution regulations, or close.

There is one proposal for a new coal­fired power station with CCS, which has had recent setbacks.

Russia is the biggest exporter of coal to the UK, supplying 43% of thermal coal imports. In Russia's main coal producing region, the Kuzbass area of Siberia, mining is devastating indigenous communities and their cultures. Shor and Teleut peoples are being forced off their ancestral lands, breaking the connection with their spiritual homes, their culture is being attacked and their language is fading from use.

Colombia supplies the UK with 33% of thermal coal imports. Companies exporting coal to the UK have been implicated in financing paramilitary mass murders, executions, and disappearances. Whole villages have been forcibly evicted to make way for mines, with insufficient relocation plans. People who challenge the mining companies' practices have had threats made against their lives.

Coal from the USA makes up 19% of imports of thermal coal to the UK. Extremely destructive mining operations are destroying huge swathes of land and ecosystems, and poisoning local people. Mountaintop removal and damaging deep mining processes are used by companies exporting coal to the UK.

Over the past year, power station closures as well as a reduction in demand from operating power stations has resulted in a significant reduction in the quantities of coal imported. Simultaneously, volumes of coal mined in the UK have continued to fall. Domestically produced coal now accounts for around a third of total coal use, despite its continued decline. Opencast mine applications in the UK are fiercely resisted by local residents, and the UK's last remaining deep mine closed in December 2015.

There are many different players involved in the international coal trade. The multiple layers of the supply chain, and the lack of transparency through them, enable companies to ignore their responsibilities for the impacts caused along the way. Currently, the end users of the coal, power stations and energy companies, bear almost no responsibility for these impacts, and are not even obliged to disclose where their coal is sourced from.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) lists many of the biggest mining companies in the world but in practice does not regulate their behaviour. This enables LSElisted companies such as BHP Billiton to move ahead with plans that would see huge swathes of undisturbed Indonesian forests destroyed for new coal mines.

UK banks are amongst the top 20 funders of coal projects globally and many public institutions and individuals have money invested in coal and other fossil fuels. In response to this, there is a growing divestment movement working to remove the financial backing for this destructive industry.

There is a lack of transparency in the coal supply chain where companies self­audit to create an illusion of transparency, and use the veil of corporate social responsibility to avoid any responsibility for the damage caused by the industry. Fortunately, there are tangible ways to lessen the impacts of this supply chain. These include supporting existing groups fighting coal extraction, forming strong international alliances, and divesting from coal.

The Conservative Government has pledged to phase out unabated coal­fired power stations by 2025, subject to a consultation and a number of caveats, but as yet has not devised any legislation to ensure that this happens.

CAN is calling on the UK Government to bring forward the date for a complete coal phase out, and to back this up with new legislation that ensures it happens. Any delay in phasing out coal in the UK only adds to the unacceptable impacts outlined in this report.

Electricity production in the UK has been prioritised over people and biodiversity in the areas affected by coal infrastructure. It is time for this to change. This report calls for a complete, early and legally binding coal phase out, and an end to opencast mining in the UK.

This article is a summary of Coal Action's report on the actions of the UK coal industry on the world. You can find the full report at their website: Ditch Coal