The Government’s policy announced today to ease consenting for coal mining will have a lasting impact across generations.

“Today the Government has announced the latest frontier in its relentless assault on our planet, easing the path for more climate-heating coal mining,” says Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick.

“The window of opportunity to respond to the climate emergency is quickly closing. The International Energy Agency has made it crystal clear that if we want to limit global warming within the 1.5 degrees tipping point, we must be phasing out the use of fossil fuels, not ramping it up.

“Coal is the dirtiest of fossil fuels and its extraction and burning costs our planet and the next generation greatly. The Government must realise its actions now will have serious ramifications for our immediate future, manifesting all the more climate-charged extreme weather events and tragedies.

“The Government are telling us they don’t care about our shared future. When someone shows you who they are, believe them.

“With Green action in Government over the last six years, total use of coal dropped by over 30% in 2022. With the lowest levels of consumption in 22 years, the last thing any of us need is the coalition ramping up coal mining.

“Instead of throwing coal, oil and gas on the climate crisis fire and gutting climate action across every single policy area as the Government has, we can and must make evidence-based, real-world steps to keep warming below 1.5degrees like our lives depend on it, because they do.”

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