Labor’s coal mine expansions fly in the face of science
Climate Council Media Release
THE ALBANESE GOVERNMENT’S approval of four coal mine expansions locks in decades of climate pollution and flies in the face of science, says the Climate Council.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has justified the mine approvals because they will mostly produce coal for steelmaking, with some thermal coal also produced for burning in power stations.
Climate Councillor Professor Lesley Hughes said: “Our atmosphere doesn’t care if this coal is for steel or power – it’s all heating our planet and driving climate pollution. Burning coal fuels the climate crisis, worsening bushfires, floods and heatwaves that devastate our communities. This decision flies in the face of science, common sense, global responsibility and our duty to protect our kids’ future.”
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has made it clear: new or expanded coal mines are incompatible with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Even for steelmaking, existing coal supplies are capable of meeting demand through to 2050.
This decision is a clear example of how Australia’s broken environment laws fail to protect the environment from its biggest threat: climate change. Currently, they don’t require projects to account for their climate pollution, allowing coal and gas giants to open more polluting projects without accountability. Addressing this blind spot by strengthening our environmental laws could stop this, but the Albanese government seems to have all but given up on these critical reforms.
“Approving these mines while delaying stronger protections shows a clear disconnect between the government’s rhetoric and its actions. It’s past time to make cuts to climate pollution central to every decision we make,” Professor Hughes said.
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4 comments
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Hotspringer
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B Sullivan
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Michael Taylor
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Bert Hetebry
Return to home pageOur ALP, not quite as bad as the LNP. Put them just above it.
Tanya Pliberserk is Minister for the Environment. Her duty is to look after the environment, not the interests of mining or industry or any other excuse she can think of for neglecting that extremely important duty to look after the environment first and foremost. The needs of the environment should always be her priority and if she can’t understand that she needs to be replaced. What we are witnessing looks more like political corruption than ministerial responsibility. But then Labor does have a long, long history of appointing Ministers for Neglecting the Environment.
B Sullivan,
For once I agree with you.
One of my ‘dad jokes’ was when driving kids to school, as we approached red traffic lights I would flick my fingers and would not need to stop because the lights magically turned green for me.
When she was driving her children to school my youngest daughter asked me how come that worked for me and not for her.
I do not want to be an apologist for dear Tanya, but the politics is a very rough road and the transition to a coal and gas free future needs some compromises.
We are in transition from fossil fuel burning power generation to more environmentally friendly energy sources. That transition, as much as we may like it to, cannot come with the flick of the fingers, not mine, not yours, nor Tanya’s, not even Albo’s, (if Dutt’s were PM, he wouldn’t even try to flick his fingers) but must go through a transition which means that occasionally the traffic light is still red and we have to stop, or for a brief time we need to burn a bit more coal to keep the lights on. We have come a long way, much further than if the LNP was sitting on the treasury bench, but there are many miles yet to travel through this transition.
I guess another factor is that we would probably like it a lot if the lights stayed on when the temperature cranks up and people turn up the air-conditioners. Just a thought as forecast temperatures for the weekend here in sunny Perth are set to be about 40 degrees.
I had to remind a couple of Liberal voters this morning of the Albo governments achievements and as I listed some of them there were approving nods, but then came the ‘cost of living crisis’ comment, so all I had said, despite the nods, went in one ear and out the other… from both sets of ears.
Flick of the fingers would be good…. if only!