Environmental group Friends of the Earth said it had received a letter from the government confirming that the decision was now due to be made “on or before 8 December 2022”.
A decision had been expected “on or before 8 November”, around the same time as next week’s COP27 climate summit in Egypt.
In January 2021, the government said it would not intervene over a decision made by Cumbria County Council to approve the construction of a £165m deep coal mine – the UK’s first in 30 years.
The controversial decision led to a strong backlash from environmental campaigners, who said it did not fit the UK’s plans to become a net zero economy by 2050.
The business secretary at the time, Kwasi Kwarteng, admitted there was “slight tension” between the approval of the new mine and the UK’s climate change plans, but he said that the coking coal would have to be imported if not mined domestically.
In an open letter to the Prime Minister and all MPs in July, members...