In another spectacular coal related own goal for the government almost £400 million of ‘green’ aid meant to help developing countries build a low carbon future will in fact subsidise new smoke belching, fossil fuelled power stations.

The UK money will be ploughed into the World Bank's Clean Technology Fund (CTF) which will fund the building of new coal power plants in developing countries.

On the other side of the Atlantic, in a welcome move from the US Congress, they abandoned their pledge to contribute $400 million to the controversial coal fund.

Benedict Southworth, director of the World Development Movement, slammed the UK’s approach:

"This UK government money is supposedly specifically designed to help developing countries make the transition to low carbon economies. It's an absolute disgrace that it will actually be used for building new coal power stations. This money will actually contribute significantly to climate change, rather than do anything to prevent it. This is embarrassing for the UK government; but is incredibly worrying news for the world's poorest people who will be hit hardest by climate change. They expect the UK to play a leading role in the fight against climate change both at home and through its funding.”

Don’t take his word for it though. This plan is just as unpopular with those in the Global South, as Ricardo Navarro, a climate change campaigner from Central America points out:

"This UK government money is supposedly specifically designed to help developing countries make the transition to low carbon economies. It's an absolute disgrace that it will actually be used for building new coal power stations. This money will actually contribute significantly to climate change, rather than do anything to prevent it. This is embarrassing for the UK government; but is incredibly worrying news for the world's poorest people who will be hit hardest by climate change. They expect the UK to play a leading role in the fight against climate change both at home and through its funding.”

Take action against new coal on WDM's website

The World Bank's web 2.0 friendly blog (where you can post comments).

While EON and the UK government wax lyrical about 'clean coal' and Kingsnorth 'cleaner coal plant' the reality is that there is no such thing as clean coal.

Over in the US where activists have also been campaigning against the coal lobby, Joel and Ethan Coen (The Big Lebowski*, Raising Arizona, No Country for Old Men, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?) have produced an ad for the ThisIsReality.org website.

Enjoy! (*now I fancy a white russian)

It's not just campaigners in the UK who are angry that the UK government is considering plans to give new coal the green light in the UK – just under 30 organisations representing campaigners in over 50 countries in the global South have signed a letter sent to Ed Miliband demanding that he bans new coal in the UK.

The letter says 'new coal power stations in the UK will exacerbate the impacts of climate change on impoverished communities in the global South and prevent the UK from developing sustainable ways of creating a low carbon economy which could be used elsewhere in the world. A decision to support new coal power stations will confirm the UK as a climate criminal in the international climate change negotiations.'

One of the signatories, Ricardo Navarro a climate change campaigner based in El Salvador told the World Development Movement:

“The UK building coal power stations is like eating a slap-up meal and handing the bill to the world’s poor.”

You can watch Tim from WDM and Ricardo talk about Kingsnorth on the BBC News website.

E.ON's proposed new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth attracts quite a lot of different language when it comes to describing the project.

EON like to use lovely, reassuring words - in fact they refer to it as the Kingsnorth cleaner coal plant (presumably since it's cleaner than the old one which is so polluting it's soon to be closed)

Project Manager Adrian Smith has described it as : "the first new coal build in the UK for over 20 years (that) could set a new benchmark for cleaner coal-fired generation in the UK.".

It could also perhaps set a new benchmark for widespread opposition to a new power station, particularly when there are green alternatives that could create more long term jobs.

Leader of the Lib Dems, Mr Nick Clegg has this to say about the project:

Nick Clegg said: "At a time when the Government should be working to reduce the UK's emissions, ministers seem determined to allow a huge new polluting power station at Kingsnorth. What planet is John Hutton living on? Without carbon capture and storage, clean coal is a total myth.

This monstrosity will only emit 20% less than previous coal fired stations, and a massive 75% more than a gas powered plant. Kingsnorth should not be given the go ahead unless carbon capture and storage is part of it from day one".

James Hansen, one of the world's leading climate scientists goes even further. He's described coal fired power stations as death factories.

"Coal is not only the largest fossil fuel reservoir of carbon dioxide, it is the dirtiest fuel. Coal is polluting the world's oceans and streams with mercury, arsenic and other dangerous chemicals. The dirtiest trick that governments play on their citizens is the pretence that they are working on "clean coal" or that they will build power plants that are "capture-ready" in case technology is ever developed to capture all pollutants.

The trains carrying coal to power plants are death trains. Coal-fired power plants are factories of death. When I testified against the proposed Kingsnorth power plant, I estimated that in its lifetime it would be responsible for the extermination of about 400 species - its proportionate contribution to the number that would be committed to extinction if carbon dioxide rose another 100 ppm."

You can read the full article on the Guardian website.

What words would you use to describe the new coal power station? leave them in the comments or tweet them to @nonewcoaluk