Australia to Keep Mining Coal Despite Climate Warning
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After warnings from researchers and scientists, Australia was urged to leave its coal reserves untapped. However, the Australian government went against the warnings and decided to continue mining coal.
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A bucket-wheel reclaimer by a pile of coal at the Port of Newcastle in Australia on October 12, 2020 (Bloomberg).
Australia vowed Thursday to keep mining coal for export under the pretext of "rising global demand." This pledge completely rejects a study warning that nearly the entirety of Australia's reserves must remain in the ground to address the ongoing climate catastrophe.
A study published in Nature, a science journal, warned that 89% of global coal reserves, as well as 95% of Australia's share, must remain untouched.
The researchers behind the study said such restraint would still only have a 50% chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels—the current global goal.
However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday developing countries rely on Australian energy exports for power, predicting that technologies would enable a green usage of the energy exports, "in a much more climate-friendly way," he said.
When asked about putting an "expiration date" on the coal mining industry, Morrison said, "We will keep mining the resources that we're able to sell on the world market."
In November, the United Nations will be hosting the 26th edition of its Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Glasgow, Scotland. The 12-day meeting will be joined by negotiators from 196 countries. It will be the biggest climate conference since the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, France.
This meeting is anticipated as a crucial step in setting worldwide emissions targets to slow global warming, which has been at an alarming increase and causing havoc all around the planet, from floods to fires and melting ice caps.
According to Australian Resources Minister Keith Pitt, coal exports bring in $37 billion a year to the Australian economy, making it Australia's second-largest export, right after iron ore. The energy industry provided direct jobs for 50,000 Australians, he said.
