Last week, Environment Minister Tony Burke, approved the controversial Alpha Coal Mine in Queensland. The approval marks a rank hypocrisy by the Government, who are at one level are championing local action on greenhouse emissions, but at another are actively fueling global climate change.
The approval of this mine gives another example of the impact Australia has on climate change beyond our own internal emissions; an impact our government refuses to take any action on.
Whilst Australia generates ‘only’ 1.5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions (noting that that still ranks us 15 in the world), our impact extends well beyond this when we start to take into account coal mines and exports. In 2010 Australia exported approximately 300 million tonnes of coal around the world. This makes Australia the world’s leading coal exporter, with exports in black coal rising over 50% in the last 10 years alone.
The impact these exports have on the global climate is huge. As former Liberal Party Adviser and Research Fellow at the Global Change Institute, Guy Pearse, explains:
“At the moment [Australian coal exports] generate around 750 million tonnes of greenhouse pollution internationally in coal fired power stations and steel mills around the world. That’s roughly 25 per cent more than we produce inside our own borders, and nearly five times as much as will be reduced by the carbon tax legislation.”
These effects go well beyond greenhouse gas emissions as well. The coal shipping trade runs directly through the Great Barrier Reef (we all remember the shipwreck of the Shen Neng 1 on the Great Barrier Reef), whilst dredging in places like the Gladstone Harbour is having big environmental impacts. Mining also creates major health problems, with research showing the people who live within the vicinity of coal mines often suffer from major health problems.
And it’s not likely the growth of this industry is going to slow at any point in the future. With approximately 120 mines or expansions expected in the next decade, coal exports are due to triple. This will mean an export increase of approximately 800 million tonnes per annum, resulting in a massive increase in global greenhouse gasses.
Despite all of this however, the Government remains extremely quiet on the issue.
For example, when leaked campaign strategy documents revealed a proposed $6 million campaign from Greenpeace to stop the expansion of coal mining, Government ministers were quick to jump to the industry’s defence. After the release of the document, Deputy Prime Minister, Wayne Swan said:
“The coal industry is a very important part of our national economy. It’s a very important of our energy supply and it’s very important to the global economy.”
Prime Minister Julia Gillard was quick to jump in as well, stating “The coal industry has a great future in this country.”
This rhetoric has been matched by policy approaches. The approval of the Alpha coal mine is just one part of an ongoing love of coal for the ALP, with the Government presenting no real evidence of ever considering not approving future mines. The party now also wants to change the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, giving more powers to states to approve such projects, effectively removing the federal ALP from such processes if it were to stay in power.
What this means is that whilst Australia is taking some action at home with our ‘own’ emissions, we are ignoring an international responsibility to stop the growth of global climate change. At home we are closing 2000MW of coal power plants over the next decade in an active recognition of the negative impact they have on our climate and community. At the same time however, by exporting so much coal, we are and will continue to be actively fueling hundreds, if not thousands, of coal power plants around the world. We are exporting greenhouse gasses by the millions of tonnes every year, and then complaining when other nations don’t take action on climate change.
The easiest way Australia could have a major impact on climate change is to leave our coal in the ground. It’s not hard to do, and state, and federal Governments currently have all the power they need to do it.
As long we continue to dig up and export coal however, the Government will not be able to ever claim that they are serious about climate change.