BY IAN CROUCH
The Greens will use the world’s largest coal export port as the backdrop for today’s launch of their new coal policy.
The Greens have long argued for the need to transition away from coal fired power stations to renewable energy and today they’ve proposed a time frame to achieve that aim.
NSW Greens Upper House MP, Jeremy Buckingham will put forward a Mining Amendment Bill which seeks to place a 10-year time limit on thermal coal mining in NSW, a limit of one billion tonnes of thermal coal production, a competitive allocation process for companies to mine for coal under a reducing cap and the placement of coal royalties into a transition fund for workers and regional economies to assist with the shift from coal-fired energy production to renewables.
NSW Greens Energy and Resources spokesperson, Jeremy Buckingham says the recent record summer temperatures is a clear indication of the impact of climate change and the need to address greenhouse gas emissions particularly from the burning of coal.
“The solution is to deal with climate change to act to stop the record heatwaves, and we do that by phasing out coal and rapidly moving to renewable energy. People are putting solar on their rooves – government needs to get behind renewables and stop more coal mining”. he said
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NSW Greens Upper House Mp, Jeremy Buckingham |