We post lots of information about specific campaigns on this blog, but we don’t often step back to look at the wider picture. This is a short introduction to Coal Action Network Aotearoa and its work in 2013, which you can also download in PDF format.

What is Coal Action Network Aotearoa (CANA)?

CANA is a national organisation working to phase out coal mining and coal usage in Aotearoa/NZ by 2027, initially by opposing new and expanded coal mines. We do this because we recognise the mining and burning of coal as the biggest threat to the world’s climate system. We want to be part of a just transition to a coal-free Aotearoa New Zealand.

What has CANA done to oppose coal mining so far?

Our major campaign so far has been against Solid Energy’s plans to mine and burn billions of tonnes of Southland lignite (brown coal). Now that Solid Energy has abandoned these plans, we continue to guard against other attempts to exploit Southland lignite.

We are also working on the following campaigns:

  • Preventing Bathurst Resources, an Australian coal company that has relocated to New Zealand, from carrying out its plans to mine millions of tonnes of coal by despoiling the beautiful and biodiverse Denniston Plateau.
  • Getting Fonterra (New Zealand’s third-biggest coal user after Huntly Power Station and NZ Steel) and other dairy companies to switch from using coal to using renewable sources of heat in their factories.
  • Making investment in coal mining, and the industrial use of coal, culturally unacceptable and economically impossible. This includes a campaign to encourage institutional investors to divest from coal and other fossil fuels. It also includes campaigns against coal company sponsorships, and our work to ensure a just transition from coal mining jobs into low-carbon jobs.

How can I get involved with CANA’s work?

There is lots you can do, but here are the first steps towards getting involved:

There will be plenty of opportunities to help with the coal divestment campaign, and with our other campaigns, so make sure to join us!