Fonterra vows to end coal use
Fonterra has promised a shift from using coal to something more environmentally friendly but has not committed to any time frame for the change.
This follows a protest at its Clandeboye plant in South Canterbury yesterday.
A group of protesters from the Coal Action Network Aotearoa (CANA) chained themselves to a gate outside the Fonterra plant, north of Timaru.
Among the protesters, who were attempting to prevent the delivery of coal to the plant, was former Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons, who said Fonterra was New Zealand’s second biggest user of coal.
‘‘It is ironic that Fonterra is contributing to climate change when some of the most vulnerable people are dairy farmers who are already suffering from drought and floods and severe winds … and climate change makes those worse,’’ Fitzsimons said.
In an emailed statement, a Fonterra spokesperson said the company measured its performance based on energy intensity per tonne of product, and set the standard within the New Zealand dairy sector based on this metric.
The spokesperson said the company had engaged in ongoing dialogue with CANA in recent years and understood and shared the organisation’s position on coal.
‘‘As a responsible corporate citizen, we too believe a transition away from coal will be the only sustainable future for dairy production.’’
When asked when that transition might happen, Fonterra responded in a further email saying there were no viable alternatives to coal in the South Island at present but that did not mean the company would settle for using fossil fuels in the long term.
The spokesperson said some alternatives being considered showed real promise.
‘‘Investigations into cleanerburning, more efficient energy sources form a key part of our energy strategy, and include our trials of miscanthus [a variety of silvergrass], biogas and woodchips at several sites.’’
The protesters arrived at Fonterra Clandeboye at 7.30am on Monday, after spending the weekend at a conference in Ashburton.
Fitzsimons said one Fonterra staff member had been to speak with the group to find out what they wanted to say and promised to deliver those messages to senior managers in the company.
Later, after initially blocking one gate, some protesters moved to a second gate where trucks were being diverted, causing them to turn around and find alternative routes into the site.
Some protesters were dressed as cows, with one sitting on top of a pile of woodchips, while others held banners.
Protester Bridget White said as a young person she wanted to stand up against things that would threaten her future and her children’s future.
‘‘I don’t want to live in a world where I have to explain to my children that there is no water or no food because of the changing climate and changing weather patterns,’’ White said.
The protesters left at about 12.30pm. ‘‘It was our decision to go,’’ CANA spokeswoman Cindy Baxter said.
‘‘From here we put Fonterra on notice. If they are going to continue to use coal and talk about switching to biomass – and it is only talk – this is the first of many actions as far as we are concerned.’’