No New Coal Mines in New Zealand Required

Forest & Bird announced that the Government needs to urgently consider how to stop new or expanded coal mines in New Zealand to keep climate warming to safe levels, says Forest & Bird. Chief Executive Kevin Hague launched a new petition calling for no new coal mines in his speech at Forest & Bird’s conference. He said “We should all be able to agree New Zealand needs a well-planned transition away from coal. But that requires a clear signal from Government now. The coal industry already has years of consented mining; allowing new or expanded coal mines through the 2020s could lock us into high-emissions scenarios for decades to come.”

Forest & Bird has also joined more than a dozen New Zealand groups in lauching a petition calling for a ban on any new oil and gas permits as well as no new or expanded coal mines.

A recent International Energy Agency report provided a worldwide roadmap to reaching net zero emissions by 2050. This pathway requires no new oil and gas fields and no new coal mines or mine extensions from 2021. In New Zealand there are currently proposals for new opencast coal mines in Southland and on the West Coast.