New coal mine despite growing climate change concerns
A climate change perspective on the Happy Valley coal mine Environment Court decision.
A new opencast coal mine at Happy Valley, near Westport, has been allowed to go ahead by the Environment Court today.
State-owned coal company Solid Energy is now able to proceed with its plans to mine Happy Valley, ultimately resulting in the creation of 13 million tonnes of climate changing carbon dioxide (CO2).
Climate change is the biggest threat to the planet and its people and we need action to stop it now. Creating new coal mines is not the way to do this.
Scientists have been telling us that we need to make immediate reductions of 60-80% since 1992 and a recent report stated that we had only 10 years to avert catastrophic climate change before the point of no return. Despite this, New Zealand’s current greenhouse gas emissions are 20% above 1990 levels and growing at a time when we need to be making a rapid transition to renewable energy. It is absolutely appalling that coal is still considered an option.
Climate change is not just an environmental issue, it is a social justice issue. It is the rich who benefit the most from fossil fuels that cause climate change, while the poor around the world suffer the worst of the consequences.
The realities of climate change are already being experienced by people globally, but this is only going to get worse. During this century, climate change caused by humans will disrupt agriculture and fresh water supply in many places around the world. Because of this, it is likely that millions of people will die and many millions more (if not billions) will suffer from malnutrition and disease.
It is important for the public to get involved in resisting climate change. Civil disobedience, direct action and creative confrontation are the tools for change. We can’t afford to leave it up to governments and business, the very interests who benefit from the climate dilemma.
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