Mining: Pollution

Lord Callanan Excerpts

Thursday 8th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My Lords, I also pay tribute to and congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Oates, on securing this debate and the powerful way in which he introduced it. No one could have failed to have been moved by the case that he outlined, so ably reinforced by the remarks from the noble Lord, Lord Hain. I am afraid I have not had the opportunity to research the details of the case he mentioned, so I will not comment on it. I am sure what he says is absolutely correct, but as I do not know the details so it would be wrong for me to express a view. I address my remarks, like the noble Lord, Lord Bruce, more on the generality of the issue.

Putting that case aside, it is generally unclear how much pollution was caused by mining companies in former colonies during colonial rule. It is difficult even to estimate the extent of mining which took place. The environmental impacts of different mining activities in different settings will be varied. Our understanding and the metrics of pollution are now, rightly, undoubtedly far more advanced than those of our predecessors. Mining is an essential activity for many of the advances in human existence that we all want to see but, like the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, I also want to see it done responsibly and with the appropriate controls.

There are many cases throughout history, as well as today, of environmental damage being caused by mining malpractice, not least in our own country. In February last year, at least 50,000 tonnes of acidic debris were spilled from a tailings dam at a copper mine in Zambia, operated by a subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned company. Even that figure is probably an underestimate of the damage. It is entirely right that such cases are investigated where laws may have been broken, and the strongest possible action should be taken.

Mining activities took place long before and after the British Empire, including in former colonies. Moreover, the mining industry continues to make a valuable contribution to our economy to this day, with 2,000 mines and quarries still active in our own country. It is inevitable that mining activities have some environmental impact; what is important is how they are regulated and how to minimise those impacts as much as possible. Our knowledge and the technology to enable us to do that is advancing all the time. For example, in some instances the British Empire implemented environmental laws, licensing systems for mining companies to manage resources and proper regulation to protect mine workers. I am sure we could have done more, but we did a lot.

In this century, the previous Government took action on the environment with the international community, investing £2.4 billion-worth of international climate finance between 2016 and 2020 into adaptation, including areas of loss and damage. Moreover, UK Export Finance added climate resilience debt clauses to loan agreements with 12 African and Caribbean countries.

However, although we support international co-operation, this Question for Short Debate asserts that it is the UK’s responsibility to determine how mining companies should behave in now independent countries. The problem, of course, is that this would mean acting as though they were almost still colonies, unable to determine their own laws and regulations or make their own agreements with the private sector.

As I have mentioned, determining the pollution caused by mining activities during the colonial period is far from straightforward. I am aware that Carbon Brief ranks the UK fourth in the world when accounting for colonial emissions, but this is not specific to mining, nor does it recognise that these colonies had their own mining sectors prior to the colonial period. Furthermore, those ranked at the top for carbon emissions happen to be a former British colony, the US, and China.

I fear that some of the arguments, as the noble Lord, Lord Bruce, indicated, mirror the arguments for reparations more broadly, which my noble friend Lord Biggar has so expertly countered in his writing and articles. To clarify, I am not saying that the UK should do nothing on the world stage to address pollution. As I have said, the previous Government were strongly committed to international co-operation on the environment. The All-Party Group for Africa, which the noble Lord, Lord Oates, co-chairs, published in May last year its report on how the UK can help to support Africa’s energy transition, recommending that the Government increase support for private sector investment in the continent’s renewable energy sources.

The UK should also offer support to Commonwealth countries to help them put in place their own enforceable regulations, especially against those with no interest in good practice at all. This is not the same as requiring mining companies to address pollution they may or may not have caused during historical periods when the impacts were not fully understood and the same standards that we have today were not in place.

It is vital to interpret analyses of historical mining pollution with caution and think carefully about the ethical and legal approaches involved when it comes to making requirements on surviving mining companies. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s contribution on this topic.