19th May 2023
Special treatment for the worst polluters: Government admission highlights the need to stop new and expanded coal mines in NSW
The Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales (NCC), the state’s leading environmental advocacy organisation, has today argued that the recent submission by the NSW government’s Net Zero Unit is a watershed moment for new coal and gas in NSW.
“It’s great to see a frank acknowledgement by the team tasked with getting us to net zero emissions that new coal or expanded coal mines will blow our carbon budget,” NCC CEO Jacqui Mumford said today.
“Other sectors of the NSW economy are rapidly reducing emissions, with both rooftop and large-scale renewable energy booming in NSW.”
“The government has diagnosed the disease, and now must take the medicine. We need a phase-out plan for coal mining and to work with our export countries to support the switch to clean energy.”
“One of the scariest components of the submission is that Glencore seems to be expecting special treatment as part of the safeguard mechanism. They have effectively said ‘don’t worry about this additional 5 million tonnes of greenhouse gases, mate, we’ll buy offsets through the safeguard mechanism.'”
Statements attributable to NCC Chief Executive Officer Jacqui Mumford:
“The safeguard mechanism is designed to impose an absolute cap on emissions. If it allows giant increases in emissions like this, then it’s broken.”
“The coal industry should be reducing its emissions, not forcing farmers and homeowners to pick up the slack.”
“This is just from the process of digging up the coal and doesn’t even consider the impact that burning all this coal will have on driving climate change.”
“The bushfires and floods gave us a taste of what is to come if we don’t take action to prevent climate change.”
“The Paris accord states that to limit global warming to less than 1.5 degrees and prevent catastrophic climate events and mass extinction, we must reduce emissions by 75% by 2030. It’s outrageous that a dirty coal mine wants to increase its emissions right up to 2050.”
Statement ends
