Members of Climate Justice Taranaki will present a petition with over 2700 signatures to the Environmental Protection
Authority (EPA) hearing in New Plymouth this Tuesday opposing the plans of Australian oil and gas company Beach Energy
to drill for more fossil fuels off the Taranaki coast.
"We are taking the voices of 2700 people to the EPA hearing in New Plymouth to demand an end to oil and gas drilling in
Taranaki. Fossil fuel mining threatens entire marine ecosystems and contributes to ocean acidification and
deoxygenation. There are also risks to kai moana and other traditional food gathering on the coast. Drilling and
discharging harmful substances in such an important area is irresponsible. Beach Energy Resources NZ (Kupe) Limited
should not be granted a marine discharge consent by the EPA for drilling more wells at the existing Kupe Platform some
30km off Manaia in South Taranaki" says Tuhi-Ao Bailey, a member of Climate Justice Taranaki.
"Critically, we are in a climate emergency. Getting off fossil fuels is crucial. There is no excuse to drill for more
oil or gas when the window for reducing emissions to minimise climate catastrophes is closing. We need to reduce our
energy demand fast and transition onto sustainable renewable energy instead. It is ludicrous that the current EEZ
regulations do not allow the consideration of impacts on the climate from proposed activities" says Urs Signer, a member
of Climate Justice Taranaki.
"Aotearoa is the global seabird capital and home to over half of the world’s marine mammal species. The South Taranaki
Bight is a hot spot, hosting six endangered species, one vulnerable species and 18 other species of marine mammals with
too little data to even assess. We also have a genetically distinct Blue whale population in the Bight. Kororā, the
Little penguin sometimes travel here all the way from Marlborough Sounds to feed. We are requesting the EPA Board of
Inquiry to refuse all of Beach Energy's consent applications associated with its planned drilling program at the Kupe
field" says Catherine Cheung, a member of Climate Justice Taranaki.
Tuhi-Ao Bailey will present the petition to the EPA on Tuesday, 6th December, somewhere between 3.30pm and 5pm. The
hearing is open to the public and is held at the Devon Hotel in New Plymouth. More information can be found on the EPA
website: https://www.epa.govt.nz/public-consultations/in-progress/beach/