Coal miners fight back after climate concerns block project
An influential lobby group for Australia’s multibillion-dollar coal mining industry has launched an advertising blitz to rally public support for an overhaul of state planning laws after a commission blocked new projects citing climate change concerns.
Funded by the mining industry, including global giant BHP Group, the New South Wales Minerals Council said on Tuesday it will draw on a multimillion-dollar “fighting fund” in promoting the campaign to protect “jobs and the economy”.
The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission last week rejected Korea Electric Power’s Bylong coal project, the third to be knocked back in Australia in 2019 on climate change concerns.
Coming just hours after climate change activist Greta Thunberg accused global leaders of failing to act fast enough to protect the environment at the UN General Assembly in New York, the campaign signals Australia’s coal industry is ready to fight its corner. The coal economy has been a key electoral battleground in Australia, with many voters swayed by concerns over jobs.
The mining industry has repeatedly warned the New South Wales planning minister of the risks to the economy, minerals council CEO Stephen Galilee said.
“These issues reached crisis point last week after the decision to refuse consent for the Bylong project. This refusal has meant the loss of 1,100 jobs for the local region and over a billion dollars in investment.”
The commission declined to comment. But it has rejected suggestions that it is a vehicle for planning reformers or activists, saying that its job is to address the public interest.
Australia, among the world’s largest per capita carbon emitters, is also the world’s largest coal exporter. New South Wales is the second-largest coal-producing state, behind Queensland, accounting for 248.6Mt of raw coal output in 2018.
State mining royalties are at record levels and are predicted to contribute about A$1.97bn ($1.33bn) a year to the state’s economy in the period up to 2022/2023, according to the minerals council.
The launch of the campaign comes as ethical investors led by the Church of England step up pressure on BHP to divorce itself from funding lobby groups that advocate for policies inconsistent with the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
The group has lodged a resolution to be heard at BHP’s London annual general meeting on October 17. BHP has recommended investors reject the resolution partly because it is already reviewing its memberships. BHP could not immediately provide a comment on the minerals council move.