IT was barely a year ago, at the COP26 climate conference, that world leaders and governments gathered together, and finally called for coal to be phased out.

Unfortunately, those words have never looked as hollow as they did this week.

It is hard to think of an act that could be as environmentally reckless as opening a new coal mine in the middle of a climate crisis. Yet that is exactly what the UK Government has done.

On Wednesday evening, the Levelling-up Secretary, Michal Gove, gave the greenlight for the first coal mine to be opened anywhere in the UK for 30 years. The Green Alliance warns that the mine, which will be opened in Cumbria, could release as much pollution as putting an extra 200,000 cars on our roads.

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The decision was instantly and widely criticised and condemned by campaigners, activists and parliamentarians from all parties. Even Tory MP Alok Sharma, who chaired COP26, branded it a “backward step” that will damage the UK’s international reputation.

He’s right. How can Westminster expect any government to listen to its calls for climate action when it is opening a new coal mine? It drives a bulldozer right through all of the warm words that underpinned COP. It is a totally counterproductive move with an impact that will be felt for years to come.

It may have been shocking, but, unfortunately, it was no surprise coming from a government that talks a lot about the importance of climate action but, in reality, has doubled down on the same fossil fuels that are doing so much damage.

The climate vandalism of their coal plan is matched by their addiction to oil and gas. Downing Street has already announced 100 new exploration licences for the North Sea. Without urgent and significant change, these will ensure that new drilling is taking place for decades to come.

What is the point of international agreements if the governments who sign them have no intention of fulfilling them?

That’s not to say that we don’t have work to do in Holyrood.

This week’s Climate Change Commission report underlined the scale of the challenge we face. It made for sobering reading and identified the need for Scotland to accelerate our climate plans and take the bold action that is needed.

And with extreme weather events increasing, there can be no greater priority than cutting emissions.

In the last 18 months, with Greens in the Scottish Government, we have shown the huge impact we can have.

In this short time, we have introduced a ban on new incinerators and coal mines (which Gove could clearly learn from).

We have created a new £500 million Just Transition fund for communities like Moray in the Highlands and Islands. This will help us to supercharge the vital shift away from oil and gas while boosting our communities and creating thousands of new jobs.

We have leapt past our targets on tree planting and delivered free bus travel to well over half a million young Scots, who, between them, have taken 34m free journeys.

ScotRail has been nationalised, with £5 billion to decarbonise and improve our railways alongside record investment in walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure to expand active travel options.

We are investing in wildlife and nature, with a £60m nature restoration fund which is doing wonders, and supporting local landscaping and greening projects from Loch Ness to Edinburgh.

These are big, pivotal changes, some of which should have been made years ago. But I am confident that they can and will benefit people across Scotland for years to come.

This is the kind of vital work that needs to be nurtured, developed and built upon by every government.

Yes, systematic change takes time, but that can’t be an excuse for inaction. There really is no time to waste. We always need to be thinking bigger and driving ourselves to do better.

But, if we are to realise our full potential, then we need the powers to do it. When it comes to reforming our broken energy market, many of the biggest changes can only be made by Westminster. More than one in five households in the Highlands already face extreme fuel poverty, with those numbers expected to increase significantly during these cold winter months.

Every day I hear from people who are looking at their gas and electricity metres and fearing the worst. The coal mine in Cumbria will do nothing to help them. And nor will the endless drilling in the North Sea.

That is why independence isn’t only a question about democracy. It is also a question about how we can best ensure a sustainable future.

Business as usual wouldn’t only be terrible for our climate, it would be devastating for the millions who are being plunged into poverty.

Do we really want to leave the biggest decisions in the hands of a government that wants to double down on polluting industries and develop a new coal mine?

It’s a future that doesn’t bear thinking about.