media advisory
friends of the earth international /mineral
policy institute
australian communities demand a shift
from coal dependency
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 15 November 2004 --
Representatives from New South Wales
communities impacted by coalmines are
gathered in protest outside a meeting of the
International Climate Change Task Force in
Sydney today to highlight the hidden costs of
coal production and call for no new coal
mines in the State.
While the International Climate Change
Task Force is meeting in Sydney this week to
solve the problems of global warming, the
coal industry in New South Wales continues to
expand at the fastest rate in history.
"Not only is coal the highest source of
greenhouse gas emissions, its extraction is
causing major and irreversible environmental
damage. Our government continues to entrench
an industry that is destroying opportunities
that exist for healthy sustainable economies
here and exporting climate change to other
nations,” stated Bev Smiles, resident of the
Hunter Valley coalfields in NSW.
Despite the State Premier, Bob Carr,
sitting on the Climate Change Task Force, New
South Wales continues to entrench itself as
one of the world's largest exporter of coal.
Protesters including regional, national and
international community and environmental
groups are angry over the hypocrisy and want
to see commitments of governments to address
climate change translated into meaningful
policies.
Catherine Pearce, International Climate
Campaigner with Friends of the Earth
International said "Governments around the
world have accepted that climate change is
one of the biggest issues facing the planet
today, but when it comes to meeting the
challenge, they are failing. It appears to be
‘big business' as usual, with the fossil fuel
industry the only winner. As one of the
world's top carbon dioxide producers on a
per-capita basis, Australia needs to do it's
bit on climate change, starting now.”
"Rather than supporting new coal fired
power stations, the expansion of coal mining
and thus the entrenchment of the coal
industry, we need to shift our focus to
facilitating transitions from dinosaur
industries such as ‘coal' to sustainable
energy sources. Clean energy options can
provide jobs without destroying regional life
support systems. If we want to get serious
about addressing climate change then there
must be no new coal mines or power stations
in NSW," stated Bev Smiles.
Coal impacted communities in NSW are not
alone. Communities in coal extracting nations
across the globe are paying the hidden costs
of coal through damage to rivers and water
supply, loss of biodiversity and major
subsidence, poor air quality, noise,
vibration, loss of amenity. Workers in the
coal industry have some of the highest
fatality rates of any professions. Coal
is considered a cheap fuel without accounting
for local impacts or the long-term impacts of
global warming, damage to communities,
rivers, landscapes, air quality and
biodiversity.
"The hidden costs of coal stretch from the
communities where it is extracted to those
communities and countries who will
disproportionately suffer the earth changing
impacts of climate change. If we integrate
the hidden costs of these operations into the
industry, it is clearly not only
unsustainable but uneconomical," stated Techa
Beaumont of MPI.
"The goals of the International Climate
Change Task Force will be very difficult to
achieve while ever the coal industry is
allowed to expand and entrench itself in the
global economy of the future. It is also
essential that we plan a just transition out
of coal for coal dependent communities such
as those in the Hunter Valley," stated
Stephanie Long, Climate Justice Campaigner
for Friends of the Earth Australia.
Contacts:
Bev Smiles: + 61 (0)405 266 614
Catherine Pearce, Friends of the Earth
International +44 (0)7811 283 641
Techa Beaumont, Mineral Policy Institute,
Australia: +61 (0)409 318 406
Stephanie Long, Friend of the Earth
Australia: + 61 (0)414 136 461
notes
Friends of the Earth International is the
largest grassroots environmental network in
the world with more than one million members
in over 70 countries.
The International Climate Change Taskforce
brings together leaders in politics,
environment, business and science from
Australia, the US, Europe and the developing
world. The geographic representation of the
taskforce reflects the desire to bring the
two countries that have rejected the Kyoto
Protocol, the US and Australia, back into the
multilateral process. It also reflects the
need for full engagement and support from
developing and continental European
countries. The Taskforce has the ambitious
goal of developing a proposal for the
post-Kyoto Protocol international climate
change regime that consolidates and builds on
the gains made through the Kyoto
Protocol.
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