Long-term CANA member Rosemary Penwarden gained global coverage for her recent trial for “disrupting” a fossil fuel conference in Queenstown.

Here is a sample of that coverage:

The Guardian

CNN

Greenpeace

Daily Express

Euronews

Who/What/Why

Although the judge disallowed her eloquent “public interest” defence, after the jury’s guilty verdict, even the prosecutor appeared to agree that Rosemary should be discharged without conviction.

This was, overall, a huge PR blow to the fossil fuel organisation whose conference she targeted, and they have since changed their name…

Well done, Rosemary!

The post CANA activist’s protest trial gets worldwide attention appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

-T.S. Eliot

The UN-sponsored Conference of Parties (COP) was conceived as the world’s best hope for reducing the impact of climate change, those hammer-blows of fire, flood and drought that are steadily increasing their prevalence and fury across the planet.

During the fortnight that COP26 was held in Glasgow, several billion tonnes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG) wafted skyward from power stations, vehicle exhausts, cleared forests, drained wetlands and the burping of a billion cows. Meanwhile, more than 500 sharp-suited fossil fuel lobbyists stalked the conference halls, reassuring national delegates that things aren’t as bad as they seem, and not to forget about the economy (and their careers) before doing anything rash.

The billions of dollars invested in such lobbying paid off when India, supported by the medieval kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Russian mafia state, and the coal-crazed Australian government, threatened to tank the final resolution unless a goal of “phasing out coal” was changed to the meaningless “phasing down coal”.

Incredibly, this is the first time, in 26 years, that coal has even been referenced in a COP resolution; we’d best not hold our collective breath until oil and natural gas also rate a mention!

There was progress, however, at least on paper; wealthy countries such as New Zealand formed international alliances and pledged to reduce methane and deforestation, as well as to provide financial aid to those developing nations who are being hit hardest by climate change, notwithstanding their own minimal emissions of GHG.

Unfortunately, Climate Change Minister James Shaw made it clear that New Zealand will take little real action to reduce our own emissions; the government will not revisit it’s desultory 2021 GHG budget, nor will it accelerate efforts to reduce methane emitted by agriculture. His post-conference press release continue to make the easily-debunked claim that we will halve our emissions by 2030, when, minus several misleading accounting tricks, the true net-net figure is about 21%, much of which will be purchased overseas.

Our poor performance on the world stage was rewarded by a humiliating “Fossil” award at Glasgow, but it could have been worse – at least we aren’t Australia, whose Prime Minister claimed that Australia’s emissions would drop 35% by 2030, despite offering zero Governmental intent or action to reduce one of the largest per capita carbon footprints of any nation. Australia also opposed a resolution to keep global warming below 1.5 C, which is essential to the survival of small island states such as the Maldives and the Marshall Islands, who’s delegate expressed “profound disappointment” with the COP26 outcome.

One delegate, from a small island state, showed journalists photos of water bubbling up from the ground during king tides; another said that any global temperature increase over 1.5 C would be a death sentence for her people. Be that as it may, based on current (“NDC”) pledges, we can expect about 2.4 C of global warming by 2050.

A recent survey of climate scientists, by the prestigious “Nature“ magazine, found that a majority of them expect catastrophic climate impacts within their lifetimes, driven by an expected 3 C rise in the average global temperature. The survey also shows that many climate scientists are struggling with grief and anxiety.

Another recent survey, of 10,000 young people across the planet, found that they, too, are profoundly concerned. As the survey team leader told the BBC in September, “…the young feel abandoned and betrayed by governments.” A significant number (40%) are hesitant to have children, and nearly half reported feeling distressed or anxious about the climate in a way that was affecting their daily functioning: eating, concentrating, going to work, sleeping, spending time in nature, relationships, playing and having fun.

So, how can we avoid a grim future? There are no magical solutions, no industrial technologies to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere at scale, and the fossil fuel companies still are manufacturing doubt, distraction and denial as we push our planetary life support systems toward potentially irrecoverable tipping points.

All we can do, is simply do everything we can, at whatever level we can, to promote community resilience and climate leadership. Get active, join and support community and environmental groups, educate yourself on the solutions, talk to your neighbours and friends, take part in group action, reduce your own consumption of fossil fuels, eat locally, write submissions, and generally make as much of a nuisance of yourself as you can!

After all, what have you got to lose? A sustainable and equitable world is still possible, if we are willing to work for it. As New Zealand’s former PM Helen Clark wrote recently, in the introduction to “Climate Aotearoa”:

“…as the Covid-19 crisis shows, when the ‘team of 5 million’ acknowledges the need to act, it does so, to great effect. That is the sense of urgency with which the climate crisis now needs to be addressed.”

The post Thoughts on the 26th UN Climate Summit, COP26 appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

EDS hold an annual Climate Change and Business Conference that is a bellwether event for climate awareness and action in NZ.

Presentations from this year’s conference are available here.

The following are my personal highlights from the sessions I attended and reflect my own interests (there were many simultaneous sessions).

The keynote sessions on the first day, however, contained a shocker – previous IPCC climate models may be seriously underestimating the amount of heating caused by carbon emissions.

This was announced by the Director of the VUWAntarctic Research Center, Prof. Tim Naish, whose presentation is here.

In view of its importance, I will do a separate post on this topic.

DAY ONE:

Tim Naish (VUW Antarctic Centre) expects that the next IPCC report will warn that BAU will lead to 6-7 C of warming this century, rather than “only” 4 C;

James Shaw said the ZCB and ETS bills are “imminent”;

Scott Simpson (National’s climate change spokesperson) performed poorly when questioned by Rod Oram, and appeared to be terrified of the farming bloc;

Sustainability Mangers from Z, Contact and Auckland City Council, plus the Watercare CEO, gave strong presentations on the need for authentic corporate cultural change and to avoid any hint of greenwash.

DAY TWO:

Anne Smith, Environmark:
We can’t adapt our way out of this; the order of priority for business has to be Measure, then Reduce, and finally, Adapt; there is only one measure of success – a reduction of GHG in the atmosphere.

Sean Weaver, Ekos:
We need climate resilient landscapes; farmers are much more at risk of suicide than urban climate activists; permanent forest sinks are better than than production forests, but economics dictates a mixture of native and exotics, e.g. eucalypts.

Tourism (various speakers):
Tourism = “travel without purpose”; cruising is 3x more damaging to the climate than flying; the average tourist to NZ travels 13,000 km; climate change is destroying tourist industry assets, e.g the Bahamas; “flight shame” is on the rise;

Climate change is also a cultural crisis, so narrative is key; Boeing has 8 years of production in back orders alone; domestic tourism = 40% of the $40 billion NZ tourism industry; annual visitors to NZ = 3.9M; annual Kiwi outward travel = 3.1M;

Jacinta Ardern, PM: Climate change is not going away and, although she’s proud of what the coalition government has and will achieve, there is more to do.

The post EDS Climate Change and Business Conference 2019 appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

Hon Dr Megan Woods

Minister of Energy and Resources

September 23, 2019

Dr Woods

This letter is being written to urge you to not attend the New Zealand Petroleum Conference. The oil and gas industry have done all in their power to delay meaningful action to address the climate crisis – they have consistently put their profits above people and the planet.

Jacinda Ardern got elected prime minister of New Zealand after calling climate change her generation’s “nuclear free moment”. The only meeting the Minister should be having with the oil and gas industry is to discuss a just transition away from fossil fuels.

We feel that a governmental presence at this conference condones and encourages a reckless and irresponsible dependency on the petroleum sector. The government is not on track to meet its obligations and contribute fairly to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and meet the Paris Agreement commitments necessary to stay well below 2 degrees – and we know we have a narrow window to make the cuts needed.

Ardern shaped her climate change views on New Zealand’s proud stance as being nuclear free, a stance that did not come easily nor without condemnation and the threat of alienation, but David Lange did not talk about how dangerous nuclear weapons are and then attend a conference aboard a nuclear warship.

We recognise that the systematic changes required to meet our Paris obligations may generate an extraordinary sense of destabilisation in those who worry at the imminent prospect of renewable energy breaking out, but the character of the argument that New Zealand’s future prosperity depends on a minerals and petroleum sector is regrettable. Very simply, there is no moral case for continued exploration for fossil fuels. The undeniable scientific and economic facts pervert the suitability of holding a conference to “celebrate” an industry that threatens the well-being of all living things.

A report to Treasury in 2018 estimated that climate change-attributable extreme rainfall-related floods cost New Zealand around $120M and climate change-attributable economic losses associated with droughts cost New Zealand around $720M over a ten year period. These costs appear conservative in comparison to a May 2017 Ministry for the Environment report that estimated the economic cost of the 2012-13 drought alone to be $1.5 billion.

The financial cost of significant weather events in New Zealand the year that Jacinda Ardern called climate change our nuclear free moment was $240 million. It was so high that 2017 was named the most expensive year for weather since records began, and in 2018 Westpac advised that early action on climate change would save the country $30 billion by 2050.

So, the hosting, holding and attending of this exclusive, premier event exposes the greatest of all perversions: the belief that business-as-usual is necessary – when in fact, it is not. The key discussions need to be about stopping all extensions to current permits, timing the end of all exploration on- and off-shore and eliminating all extraction of fossil fuels as part of a just transition.

“Celebrating” an industry charged with accelerating climate breakdown subverts the best of intentions. The Prime Minister has said that ‘fossil fuels are not part of New Zealand’s future’. If the fossil fuel industry wishes to be a part of our future, they have the ability to fund and accelerate investment into alternative clean energy sources and support the labour force to retrain and begin new work. The voices of the communities and workers facing significant change as a result of ending our reliance on fossil fuel extraction should have been included as an important part of this conference.

Too often preparations are being made for survivable climate collapse with words like mitigation and adaptation. But what if you ignore those and wholeheartedly embrace the unthinkable and imagine the devastation which could result from the collapse of a stable climate.

Dr Woods, you have stated that you firmly believe that economic growth need not be at the expense of the environment, but do you equally believe that economic growth cannot occur if the climate collapses? Your statement infers an understanding that the environment does suffer from the relentless pursuit of economic growth, but you say that it doesn’t have to. We believe that a vibrant, healthy economy can only exist within a vibrant, healthy environment on a vibrant, healthy planet. The Petroleum Conference is a holdover from a previous era. It is time to move on. The conference should be disbanded.

The normality and regularity with which we use petroleum-based products makes it difficult to read all the signs, but essentially the New Zealand Petroleum Conference is a demonstration of how the fossil fuel industry has assumed a moral life of its own.

We implore the Minister of Energy and Resources and the New Zealand government to respectfully withdraw from its participation in and support of the New Zealand Petroleum Conference.

With awareness and conviction

Zella Downing – XR Queenstown Lakes

Anna Simmonds – XR Queenstown Lakes

Rosemary Penwarden – Oil Free Otago

Joanna Santa Barbara – Our Climate Declaration

Cindy Baxter – Coal Action Network Aotearoa

Rob Taylor – Auckland Coal Action

Melanie Vautier – Climate Safe Travel Institute

James Barber and Michelle Ducat – Oil Free Wellington

Catherine Cheung and Urs Signer – Climate Justice Taranaki

Torfrida Wainwright – 350 Christchurch

Environmental Justice Ōtepoti

The post NZ Petroleum Conference – letter to Megan Woods appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

I recently found myself in Dunedin for the first time in a decade. It was wonderful to rediscover the city- not for the usual touristy things, but as an anti-coal advocate; there to support, among other things, the blockade at the Minerals Forum. The Forum was a conference involving promoting the expansion of coal in NZ. A (wonderfully named) COALition of activist groups including Coal Action Network Aotearoa had gotten together to tell the delegates exactly how unwelcome they were in their city.

We headed down in the darkness, where already at 6am delegates were scurrying into the building- three hours early, just to avoid us! Woohoo. Security had been standing there all night- it was about time we broke up the monotony.

Groups of dozens stood arm in arm, blocking a rumoured thirty-something entryways. There was an almost constant flow of support people coming around offering apples, water, snacks; others stopped by with various musical instruments for some entertainment or a singalong, still more raced around with walkie talkies saying where more people were needed. There was a chill tent with beanbags, there was about four thousand signs and banners, there was an appointed chef for a vegan BBQ. Every now and then things got intense as the delegates, generally alongside police but not necessarily, tried to barge their way through. We’d link arms just as staunchly as we possibly could, stand our ground, frenetic chants would well up of “We’re non-violent, how about you?” and we made it really, really difficult for them to get in.

We had everyone from high school students to retirees- none of whom shied away from the frontline. All ages, genders and backgrounds, linking up and singing songs. Our diversity was a stark contrast to the huddle of delegates we blocked- a sea of grey hair. In movie war scenes I always wonder how you can tell amongst the chaos who is a goodie and who is a baddie. In a blockade, it’s easy: baddies wear suits, protesters wear puffer jackets or colourful leggings or penguin onesies. Some protesters did wear suits, but they also all wore beanies; so in any potential times of confusion you can just check heads for beanies and you could be fairly confident who you were dealing with. And if you find yourself not on the side of the colourful leggings and the penguin indiscriminately giving out free hugs, you really have to question some life decisions.

I have to acknowledge the fantastic group of people involved in the blockade. That must be one of the most universally compassionate and sensitive environments I have ever encountered. They manage to successfully have no hierarchy, which baffled some people who wanted to speak to our ‘leader.’ Everyone brought their own vibes and it became an amazing collaborative spectacle. From harmonicas to hula hoopers, from hands glued to doors to those who stood nearby with signs and moral support, from the videographers and live streamers to the mystery people who pulled off a spectacular banner drop; it felt like one big amazing diverse organism, the sum so much more than its parts.

We kept a lot of them out for most of the morning, and when the last ones got through we dropped our positions, picked up various implements, and had ourselves a little party making as much noise as we could!

Unbeknownst to us, the mayor inside was bravely telling a room full of miners that he was on our side: “the people outside those doors are expressing the overwhelming view of this community and my Council.” I don’t think they’ll be in a hurry to host a mining conference in Dunedin again anytime soon.

So I spent four days in Dunedin, saw very little of the city, but would not have it any other way. Standing there in the early morning darkness, linking arms with strangers, singing Te Aroha – I felt in my bones there was nowhere I’d rather be. *

*Of course, really, I’d rather there wasn’t a climate emergency and I could just go down and see the penguins; but given the state of things- confronting the mining industry was pretty satisfying too…!

**I have also just about recovered from my lingering instinct to block the path of any suited man I see; which has not been ideal in the streets of Wellington.

The post The Minerals Blockade: A View From the Frontline appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

Climate Justice Aotearoa has produced an excellent report of the conference on their website, which we have lightly adapted here:

This year’s ECO conference saw what Jeanette Fitzsimons of CANA described as a coming together of “natural allies”  with environmentalists and unions exploring the opportunities and challenges associated with realising a just transition for workers and communities here in Aotearoa.

“A just transition means moving to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy that maximises the benefits of climate action while minimising hardships for workers and their communities.” – Gary Cranston of Unite Union.

The panel began with an inspiring video presentation by Sean Sweeney from Trade Unions for Energy Democracy who introduced us to the work of TUED and provided us with many inspiring examples of alliances between environmental and worker’s movements.

Coal Action Network Aotearoa’s main contribution to Just Transition work in Aotearoa has been our Jobs After Coal: A Just Transition for New Zealand Communities report – you can read more about the report, and its reception, on our Jobs After Coal page.

Let’s keep this conversation going as we move on to making this just transition happen in the real world. You can contact the panelists as follows:

Sean Sweeney : Trade Unions for Energy Democracy : sweeneygli@gmail.com

Gary Cranston : Unite Union – Climate Justice Aoteraoa

Jared Abbott : First Union

Jeanette Fitzsimons : Coal Action Network Aotearoa

Sam Huggard : NZ Council of Trade Unions

The post ECO Conference shows unions and environmental groups are natural allies appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

Tarsh at the talks

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been working to avert climate disaster for over two decades.

While there are a myriad of challenges in attempting to get nations to agree to an action plan to save our planet, there is one major flaw in attempts to date.

UNFCCC negotiations have dealt only with emissions; governments are required to produce emissions reduction targets, and market mechanisms are aimed at making it more expensive to emit.

What is glaringly absent from the discussion is any mention of ceasing to extract the fossil fuels that have gotten us into this mess.

The problem with solely pursuing climate policies which seek to reduce fossil fuel demand is that even when they are successful, they simply push fossil fuel prices down, creating a cheap energy supply that is hard for renewable energy sources to compete with.

There needs to be a simultaneous push from the other side, cutting off the supply of fossil fuels and creating a strong impetus for change.

The science is telling us that the majority of our known fossil reserves must stay in the ground if we are serious about keeping within two degrees of warming.

The International Energy Agency has said that “no more than one-third of proven reserves of fossil fuels can be consumed prior to 2050 if the world is to achieve the 2 °C goal,” and Carbon Tracker estimates that 65-80% of listed companies’ current reserves cannot be burnt.

While estimates may vary slightly, the consensus is in. We cannot burn all of our known reserves, and thus, further exploration for new reserves is morally reprehensible.

This week New Zealand’s climate change minister Tim Groser arrived in Lima for the United Nations COP20 climate conference. Prior to his arrival, Groser assured a reporter that in New Zealand we are “absolutely doing our fair share” to address climate change.

The following day, energy minister Simon Bridges announced fifteen new oil and gas permits, seriously undermining this statement. This announcement flies in the face of any real intention to engage with climate change action at the international level, ignoring the reality that to continue with fossil fuel exploration means to accept the possibility of over four degrees of warming, a frightening prospect.

It is time that leaders come to term with the fact that they simply cannot exploit all the fossil fuel resources in their territories and still expect to pass on a liveable planet to their kids.

Governments simply cannot continue to consider their  model of economic development apart from their commitments to tackle climate change. The longer this divide exists, the more the problem worsens, and we will only become further locked into dirty energy infrastructure. Nations need to face up to the crux of the climate problem and address the issue of continued extraction.

The post The Imperative to Leave it in the Ground appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

Kristin sends this report:

Three days amongst 250 of Australia’s most inspiring coal and gas campaigners has been a surprisingly emotional experience. As I reflect on the journey of the past few days I am left with a deep sense of respect for these people and those around the world so heavily impacted by the fossil fuel industry.

In my daily life and work it has been easy to overlook the widespread harm the industry is causing to right now to ordinary people every day. This conference has brought this home for me and I would like to share that with you.

Opening night: grim stories from the coal face  

A bloke of about 50 stands up, takes the mic, and introduces himself as an ex-coal miner who now spends his time fighting the expansion of the coal port, and therefore coal industry in McKay, Queensland.

He has felt the damage first hand. The numbers he uses are staggering, the millions of tonnes of coal, the amount of seabed that needs to be dredged, the number of coal trains, the amount of coal dust spread across the city.

And he tells the story of hurt, of struggle, and of grim determination that is similar to many other stories that night and those of the hundreds of people here, and the tens of thousands of people across the country so heavily impacted by the mining industry.

The first evening feels incredibly cathartic. People just need to tell their stories, talk about the hurt that is being felt in their communities, the price that is being paid by the land, the water and the people for the promised riches of this mining boom. And they are feeling it very hard.

The announcement next morning of the suicide of a farmer whom many here have been supporting brings it into sobering relief.  The pressure of being the only farmer in his area not to sell out to a giant coal seam gas company proving too great. There are plenty of tears.

Similarities with NZ 

I hope we never feel it this hard in New Zealand but am immediately struck by the similarities.

I think of the stories from around our country and how much they resonate with the stories I am hearing here.

I think of the people around Puhi Puhi, unsure and afraid of what the new gold mining permits issued there mean.

I think of the people of Waihi, who will now have to live with mining under their homes.

I think of the folks in Taranaki, who find their rural landscape suddenly industrialised by the burgeoning oil and gas companies; and the people of the Tararua, valiantly trying to stop Tag Oil doing the same to theirs.

And I think of Greymouth, the loss of jobs, the loss of life, and how much hurt they must be feeling.

Day two: Optimism and momentum 

But by day two there are less signs of pain and more smiling faces and it obvious why such a large and diverse crowd have gathered here. Workshops on the latest climate science, community organising, media skills, health monitoring, direct action, social media, lobbying, and groundwater impacts fill the place with an amazing sense of optimism.

When you look at the diversity in the crowd it is obvious that this is a movement that has momentum and knows it is going to win. Doctors, farmers, students, church leaders, grandmothers, taxi drivers and others talk about the positive change that is happening around the country.

1 million homes on solar power, coal power stations shutting down, communities blockading gas companies, nanas knitting to stop coal seam gas, everyday folks changing their super funds because they invest in fossil fuels.

And they say this is just the beginning.

Lessons for NZ: finance is crucial 

Coming home, I am inspired to put some of the lessons from here into action. The key points discussed here are stopping investment and encouraging divestment from fossil fuel projects. Knowing our government Superfund, our major banks, and other institutions responsible for investing our money are putting it in such a destructive industry demands attention.

Understanding finance seems crucial in exposing and ultimately stopping investment in climate change. There is also a lot of work being put into building community resilience, simple and effective when the industry comes knocking.

I also feel inspired to help make an event like this happen in New Zealand. The sharing, the support and the strategising are invaluable and can only strengthen our movement.  I’m taking expressions of interest.

It has been an experience and a privilege to have spent these past days in the midst of such a determined movement. The words shared at the closing are less about hurt and more about the inevitability of success.

I have a moment of jealousy, wishing for the resources and breadth of experience in our movement in New Zealand, but quickly acknowledge it is borne out of necessity, something I hope we never feel like here to the same extent. These fractured communities see not only contaminated water and land, but understand that the floods and the droughts are also impacts of the fossil fuel industry and climate change.

In New Zealand we have had some great victories against the fossil fuel industry. The fight which stopped Marsden B going ahead has ensured we will never build another coal fired power station again. Petrobras abandoning plans for deep sea oil exploration off the East Cape and Solid Energy dropping plans for lignite conversion in Southland are some of our recent wins.

In New Zealand we have achieved a great deal but still find ourselves on the cusp of a massive expansion of the fossil fuel industry. This expansion is already being passionately opposed across the country – from the fight to stop coal mining at Denniston, the growing Lock The Gate movement against oil and gas, and the national opposition to the threat of Anadarko drilling in our coastal waters this summer.

We have defeated these threats before and must continue to learn, to share, and to work together to ensure we defeat them again and minimise the harm like I have witnessed here.

We still have a choice:

We can let the government continue to roll out the red carpet to these companies and face the same fate as these people who have gathered here this weekend.

Or we can take a cue from the growing number of communities I have met here this weekend and take action to keep them out.

I know which I am inspired to do.

Kristin

The post Inspiring report from Australia coal activist gathering appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

Find out all about the Festival here: http://nocoalsummerfest.org.nz/

Register here (see the yellow Registration button near the bottom of the page): http://nocoalsummerfest.org.nz/information

Find out what we did at the last festival – and the tremendous progress that’s resulted from decisions made and steps taken at the Festival – in this summary which looks at what happened at the Festival and what the situation is one year on: Summerfest_2012_notes_and_progress

Check out the amazing poster for this year’s Summer Festival …

… and take a look at this group photo from the 2012 Festival:

The post Summerfest 2013 – And What We’ve Achieved Since Summerfest 2012 appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

So we are holding the Ka Nui! Enough! Conference at the same time to discuss the huge negative impacts mining has on our economies, communities, and environment and what we are going to do about it. And we hope you’ll be able to attend.

Ka Nui! Enough!

Website: http://kanuiconference.wordpress.com/

Location: Rotorua

Dates: Saturday 25th & Sunday 26th August

Speakers: Dayle Takitimu (Te Whanau-a-Apanui) Drew Hutton
(Lock the Gate Alliance Australia), Dr Susan Krumdieck (Canterbury
University) and more . . .

Cost: $25 for the weekend or koha on the day.

Registration: to register email your name and contact number to kanuiconference@gmail.com

Kaupapa

The extractive industries, including fracking, mining & oil drilling, have huge negative impacts on our economies,communities & environment.

We must move past this in a way that is just for all. Join us to learn more and strategise together.

Please forward this invite widely. And please register asap to support those communities on the frontlines, to learn, to share, and to strategise.

The post Ka Nui! Enough! Conference, Rotorua, 25-26 August: How To Attend, Why To Attend appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.