Rod Oram speaking to the fossil fuel divestment motion at the Anglican Synod in 2014. Photo: Taonga News

It was 2014, and Rod Oram was central to a decision by the Anglican Church of Aotearoa and Polynesia that would have wide-reaching ramifications for communities of faith across the world.

After a conversation at a Coal Action Network Aotearoa hui, the team discussed the  idea of fossil fuels divestment, someone mentioned the churches. It prompted the idea to get the Anglican Church to do this.

This was ten years ago and we were all starting to talk about climate change and how it was going to affect the world.With a lot of research and help from others nationally from different justice groups , including Rod, I realised it was possible and a motion was formulated which contained the main points of our concerns. 

I made contact with the Anglican Social Justice Network, where Rod was a member, seeking advice and help with this significant move for our Church. While the Auckland synod had already been held , Rod was very much engaged with the venture, with his expertise and knowledge very obvious in the motion’s formulation.  

As a member of the Dunedin Diocese, I proposed the motion to our synod, which turned out to be quite controversial. With only ten minutes to make our case,  it got voted through – just!

It then was sent to other Dioceses including all Māori, Pasifika and Pakeha, so  others could discuss and add their weight to the motion at their synods. As the other synods passed their divestment motions, the feeling grew that we could actually get this passed.

Fortunately they all passed the motion, some with a narrow margin, and some with small amendments. Iit then passed on to General Synod Te Hīnota Whānui as the final step for possible approval.

Rod picked up the baton at just the right time.

In May 2014, the 61st Te Hīnota Whānui  – the Anglican General Synod, was held at Waitangi.

When we got there Rod came and spoke to me about it.  It was essential  there be a person from each tikanga to move, second and speak and affirm the motion if it was to have a chance of passing. We needed some people from across all sections of the church-Bishops, Clergy and  lay people, both men and women… to show that this came with support from all sectors of our community.

There were people with much more mana than I had.  Pasifika were already feeling the brunt of climate change and all its ramifications for their people.

Rod, as a member of the General Synod Te Hīnota Whānui, having helped write the motion, added all the details to back up the argument. He gave a lot of help with getting the motion into the correct words and with the right background. Rod was the driver: he had the knowledge and background on climate change and could speak with authority, knowledge and wisdom, along with the weight of the business community. His extensive international knowledge really helped at the right time.

Rod moved it on the floor of the Synod, and it was seconded by Rev Jacynthia Murphy, from  tikanga Maori.  After a couple of amendments, it was agreed.

Most of us think we can’t  do anything to make changes at this level of decision making.   I discovered that the kitchen table was a great place to start designing this motion with knowing some influential people like Rod who could use his expertise and that of others to make it  come to fruition. With this backing it happened!

The Anglican Church Trust Board, which does the investing, was instructed to keep reporting back to General Synod until they had completed the process of divestment. 

At Waitangi the next morning after it was passed I  happened to sit next to a man at breakfast  who turned out to be  the Trust Board Manager!  We had a discussion about the difficulties of divesting from fossil fuels in all their portfolios… it was going to take some time, he said. But he did it – last year it was announced that it had actually been done!

This decision was one of the  world’s firsts in this field for the Anglican church. Rod was just the right person to get this across the line: he was a tower of strength: we couldn’t have done it without him.

These are my memories of a momentous time and action, facilitated and supported by Rod. A taonga.

Whakataukī: 

Titiro whakamuri, kōkiri  whakamua.

Look back and reflect so we can move forward. 

– Jenny Campbell, interviewed by Cindy Baxter

Motion 22 – Fossil Fuel Divestment

Thursday 15 May 2014

1.         Mr Rod Oram                                                                     
2.         The Rev’d Jacynthia Murphy

Amended Motion

That this General Synod/te Hīnota Whānui 2014:

 Recognizing the threat that anthropogenic climate change poses to all God’s creatures, including human beings, in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia and in all the Earth, for present and future generations,

Noting that the huge reserves held by coal, oil and gas extraction companies far exceed what can be burned in order to hold global warming below the internationally agreed level of 2 degrees Celsius.

Emphasizing the Church’s mission to safeguard the integrity of creation and to sustain and renew the life of the earth, and to seek to transform the unjust structures of society,

Accepting the responsibilities and duties of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia as an ethical investor,

(i)         Considers ongoing investment in the fossil fuel industry to be contrary to the Church’s missional goals of the care of creation and social justice, and to be contrary to its responsibilities and existing commitments as an ethical investor.

(ii)       Resolves that the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia should no longer invest in corporations whose main business is the extraction and/or production of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas).

(iii)      Requests that the Standing Committee require the Trusts and other entities investing on behalf of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the Church’s funds are not invested in such corporations specified in (ii) and to ensure that existing holdings in such corporations are divested within 2 years.

(iv)      That this Synod/te Hīnota commission a group that would include membership from, the Diocese of Polynesia, the Diocese of Auckland Climate Change Action Group, Akina Foundation and other interested parties to advise on the feasibility of investing divested funds into conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity in areas / regions of the three Tikanga that are vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise and to report back the General Synod/te Hīnota Whānui 2016.

Agreed

The post Rod Oram: a tale of success in the Anglican church appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

We think Dr Robert Howell’s new book “Investing in People and the Planet” is worth your attention – and so we’re pleased to help promote his New Zealand speaking tour. You can find out more about the book on Robert Howell’s website, where he says:

In a world threatened by ecological disaster, global inequality and human tragedy, how can we make a difference? The bank that we select, the pension fund and insurance that we choose, the investments that we support, and the voice that we raise to shape Government investments and financial behaviour, can begin to make the changes that are needed when joined with the efforts of others. This book shows how and why. It can be purchased at quaker.books@quaker.org.nz

New Zealand Speaking Tour – Dates and Venues

Invercargill: Thursday March 23.    Southern Institute Technology Room B1-12 7.30 pm Contact: jennycam@xtra.co.nz

Dunedin: March 25.  Otago Polytechnic.  4.00pm.   Lecture Room G106, Ground Floor, G Block, Otago Polytechnic, Union Street East (near corner with Harbour Terrace). Contact:simsam45@gmail.com

Christchurch: March 27.  5.30 pm (tea and coffee provided) for a 6.00 pm start.  Quaker Centre,   217 Ferry Rd, Christchurch.   On the corner of Nursery Road.   Some parking onsite.

Nelson: March 29.  NMIT, T Block, 7.00pm. Contact: C.M.Richards@clear.net.nz

Wellington: March 31. GBLT3, Lecture Theatre 3, Old Govt Building, Pipitea Campus 12.30 – 1.30 pm.

Palmerston North: April 3,  5.30pm.  First floor, non-fiction section of PN Public Library.  Contact:celia.short@lifeinleadership.com  (NB the lecture will start at 6.00 but as the main doors close at 6.00 we need to be there beforehand.)

Napier: April 4, 7.00pm.Lecture Theatre 1 , EIT, 501 Gloucester Street, Taradale.

Hamilton: April 6, 7.00pm. Waikato Cathedral Church Hall of St Peter 51 Victoria Street, Hamilton

The post Robert Howell: Investing In People And The Planet – New Book And Speaking Tour appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

At the briefing the previous night, we asked questions, especially about arrest, and ran through what we’d do during the action. Snacks, goodwill and optimism were abundant and this theme continued the next morning.

At about 8 am a wall of coal sacks blocked the doors. We linked arms and sang songs. Others handed out leaflets to explain the purpose of the civil disobedience or spoke to media, and buses tooted their support for our divestment message on a prominent banner, with our oil spattered climbers standing on the awning above. Police were present, but not threatening or intimidating towards the main group of protestors.

I ended up sitting next to another doctor. We discussed how emergencies require urgent responses. If you had a heart attack in front of me, I wouldn’t tell you to come back in 2 weeks if your heart attack didn’t feel better. Likewise, urgent direct action is necessary for the health emergency of climate change. It felt good to be doing the right thing.

ANZ  were keen to avoid media coverage. Some customers wanted to get in, but even an older couple who needed to get arrangements for travel sorted that morning told us they supported what we were doing, and were able to get what they needed after some discussion.

By 11 am the lights inside went off, a sign saying they’d closed up for the day was stuck on the door and the remaining staff trailed out through a side exit. Our roof climbers with the banner came down, and we sang waiata of support as they were issued with trespass notices, which was all done in a civilised and friendly manner.

The day was a success, no one was arrested or hurt, and we didn’t have to use the fortitude we had built up the previous night, nor the learned skills of dealing with forcible removal.

Business as usual cannot continue, and breakfree2016 actions around the world coordinated by 350 made that clear. There are risks involved, of arrest, of having force used against you, of upsetting people, and perhaps most worrying of all, of this not producing the changes we urgently need.

This event gave me courage to engage in similar actions again. Between courage and hope, we may have all we need to produce transformation.

“The most common way people give up power is by thinking they don’t have any.”

Alice Walker

A doctor explains why she's protesting today #ANZdivest #breakfreenz #breakfree2016 pic.twitter.com/1wAvRfKMne

— 350 Aotearoa (@350nz) May 10, 2016

The post Urgent civil disobedience with 350: what does it feel like? appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

• Don’t need any convincing to sign on? Go straight to http://dotheparispledge.org/

BankTrack, the international NGO tracking the investments of private sector banks and their effect on people and the planet, has recently launched a major new campaign calling on banks to sign a pledge to quit coal, in time for the Paris climate conference in November. Coal Action Network Aotearoa has signed on to support this growing movement to tell banks to take this pledge and quit financing coal – and you can too.

The campaign is called “Banks: Do The Paris Pledge” and is part of BankTrack’s long-running campaign to build pressure on banks to exit the coal industry, based on its severe impacts on climate and health. Banks are invited to pledge to produce a phase-out plan for ending their financing for the coal industry (both mining and burning).

Please check out the website at http://dotheparispledge.org and consider signing up as a supporter, and encouraging your friends and networks to do likewise. There are options both both individuals and organisations to sign on.

The post Tell Banks To Do The Paris Pledge To Quit Coal appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

So what is Global Divestment Day? It’s a day organised by 350.org to increase the pressure on banks and other institutions, as well as individuals, to withdraw their investments from fossil fuel companies: the miners, drillers, frackers and their backers who are ruining our planet’s climate by their continued extraction of fossil fuels.

Let’s keep all the coal in the hole – and stop investing in companies trying to remove it

And it’s a movement that’s gaining momentum. Here in Aotearoa, thanks to the efforts of 350.org.nz, Coal Action Network Aotearoa and other groups, we’ve seen churches, universities and local bodies divest from fossil fuels. On Valentine’s Day, let’s come together to show how much we love the planet and how little we love fossil fuels and those who seek to profit from them.

We’re aware of five events in New Zealand – each is listed on the GDD global map and on Facebook. Please note that the Dunedin event is on Friday 13 February. The other events are on Saturday 14 February:

Matauri Bay: The Big Beach Picnic, Sat 14 Feb, 10.00am, Matauri Bay, Northland. Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1596914170539548/

Auckland: Flash Mob, Sat 14 Feb, 12 noon, Silo Park, Corner Jellicoe & Beaumont Streets, Wynyard Quarter, Auckland. Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/739039812870728

Hamilton: Picnics and Placards, Sat 14 Feb, 5:00 PM, Hamilton Garden Arts Festival – English Rose Garden. Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1530734060526545/

Christchurch: Love Divestment Day, Sat 14 Feb, 1.oopm, Edmonds Garden, 365 Ferry Road. Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/632797643492987/

Dunedin: Renewable Affair, Fri 13 Feb, 12 noon, The Octagon, Dunedin. Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/625548474240288/

Get along and help build the pressure for worldwide divestment from fossil fuels!

The post Global Divestment Day Is Coming. Here’s How To Take Part. appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

Our new report released today.

It doesn’t include new mines such as Bathurst’s plans for the beautiful Dennison Plateau, where operations have stalled and 29 workers were recently laid off as the coal price has plummeted in the face of a global oversupply.

But imagine if the Government was to draw a line in the sand and state that there would be no more coal mines in Aotearoa.  If they did that today,  this would give coal mining communities the time to adjust, to plan a transition away from coal that involved the entire community, and led to a sustainable future.

This is the argument we set out in our new “Jobs After Coal” report, released today.

Our research has found that New Zealand’s coal mining communities generally have fewer full time jobs and lower per capita income than their surrounding region or district.

This is totally contrary to the coal industry’s claims of employment and prosperity.  Only two mining communities in the entire country have higher median incomes than their surrounding district and only one has higher employment.

It’s clear that coal does not bring the promised prosperity from digging up coal, coal that will ultimately end up in the sky when it’s burned, contributing to arguably the most pressing issue facing the world today:  climate change.

In our report we outline ways in which communities can transition away from coal to new sources of prosperity and jobs as international markets and climate change concerns lead the phase out of coal.

Coal is a boom and bust industry. When the bust comes, coal mining communities have been left with no support – except for plans for more boom and bust coal mines.  Over the last few years we’ve seen so many jobs lost, overnight, with families and communities thrown into chaos and facing an uncertain future.

In gathering information for our report, we called every single coalmine in the country, to find out just how many people are employed.  The final figure is 1259 jobs.

Yet the Government continues to go on about the need for coal mining jobs, pushing coal as a job creator, yet it barely blinks at the nearly 40,000 jobs lost in manufacturing in the five years to 2012.

The international situation, with record-low coal prices, and an oversupply, with countries like China and India moving to renewable energy and to cut pollution,  our coal industry is unlikely to recover any time soon.

Talk of a carbon bubble is now gaining traction as people begin to understand the idea that we have only a small ‘budget’ of carbon we can afford to emit to keep global warming below two degrees C.

Coal is a sunset industry, and fossil fuel investments will be left as stranded assets

We could pretty much consider Solid Energy as a ‘stranded asset’ these days, with banks forced to back a company that will continue to fail under the ongoing ‘perfect storm’ of low prices and the high dollar.

Over the last week we’ve seen two institutions move to divest themselves from fossil fuel interests:  the Dunedin City Council – and the Anglican Church’s New Zealand and Pacific Dominion – the first branch of the Anglican church worldwide to do so.

Jobs After Coal sets out many alternatives to mining, especially in renewable energy and an expanded use of wood. Mining skills are applicable over a wide range of different industries.  However, this transition will not happen without planning, leadership, resources, and involvement of the whole community.

We have to draw a line in the sand for the end of coal in New Zealand, then plan for the day that this happens. Involve the whole community and plan a transition that doesn’t dump people out of jobs overnight.

The sooner we prepare for a future where mining towns can determine their own paths without dependence on the vagaries of a dying industry, the better.

The post Coal communities deserve better than the “boom and bust” coal industry appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

It’s not to late to change banks in time for our week of action.

When we started our campaign against Westpac because of its investment in Bathurst Resources, the company bit back.

No, no, we don’t invest in Denniston, they said.

We were investing in Bathurst before they were planning Denniston, they said.

The facilities we have with them relate to their existing operations, they said. Nothing to do with Denniston, they said.

While we have written to Westpac to clarify all of these points, we haven’t heard back.  They’ve gone silent, instead promoting their so-called sustainability.  But Bathurst’s half yearly report, released recently, is very useful and has provided all the information we think we need.

It certainly doesn’t tell us anything that would lead us to call off the campaign, as Westpac thinks we should.

The Bathurst report (page 18) goes into great detail on its relationship with Westpac  – perhaps in response to our campaign.  Here’s the detail on Westpac from that report:

“In July 2012, the Group obtained a finance facility with Westpac New Zealand Limited for the acquisition of a new mining fleet. The total amount available and drawn on the facility as at 31 December 2013 was $3.5 million.”

This new mining fleet is currently being deployed at the Cascade mine, just down from Escarpment (Denniston).  The thing is, Bathurst’s mining all it can out of Cascade, because it needs as much money as it can to fund the new mine. 

Will none of that fleet be used to take the beautiful Denniston plateau apart?  Even if it isn’t, all of Bathurst’s mines are being used to finance the new one.  So it’s a bit silly to claim they’re not related.

It’s also a bit silly to claim, as they do, that their investments in Bathurst were made before the company had made any plans to mine Denniston.  Bathurst’s whole entry into New Zealand was always all about Denniston and the coking coal up on that plateau.  They’ve bought up all the mines they currently own in order to get this new mine (and the next five mines next to it) up and running.

Next quote from Bathurst’s report:

 “In addition, the Group has with Westpac New Zealand Limited a term loan $1.2m, finance lease facilities $0.3m, and bank overdraft facilities which were unused at 31 December 2013.”

There are no caveats here about where this money from Bathurst’s term loan with Westpac should be spent.  Again, this is about Bathurst having enough money to keep going and start digging up the Denniston Plateau.

Right now the company is in dire financial straits, not helped by the low price of coking coal.  But it’s abundantly clear to us that Westpac is helping this company keep afloat through both loans: the $3.5million loan for its mining fleet and the $1.2million loan and the finance lease facilities.

While Bathurst has said this all-time low price of coal means they won’t start digging any up yet, (while laying off 29 workers), once it gets all the permits approved, it plans to start readying the Denniston Plateau for mining.

We have yet to find out whether this includes removing all the “overburden” [read: beauty, biodiversity], but, with Forest & Bird, have called on them not to do this and for the Minister of Conservation to hold back his permission.

We also note that the Buller District Council is getting very excited about the planning permissions being signed off. It looks like Bathurst may be clear of all the red tape pretty soon.

So it’s still a great time –  if you’re a Westpac customer who wants to do something about Bathurst’s plans to dig up a beautiful part of New Zealand for coal that will ultimately end up in the sky and contribute to climate change – to

Sign up to Make the switch!

It’s not too late to switch away from Westpac in time for our Week of Action beginning 7^th April around the country.  So get switching people!

Final note: Westpac is also one of the banks propping up Solid Energy, who, along with Bathurst Resources, are both pretty shaky companies. You’d think they might learn that coal is a bad investment on so many levels.  Maybe they should follow the path of Bill Koch (younger brother to the infamous Koch Industries brothers), who is getting out of the coal mining industry because, in his words, it “has kind of died.”

The post The real deal on Westpac’s coal funding appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

Today Westpac customers queued at the Wellington Cuba Street Westpac branch, forming a continuous line and symbolically withdrawing a dollar to send Westpac a simple message: Westpac customers do not want their money financing climate change.

Participants were quickly forced to leave by Westpac staff despite being Westpac’s own customers.

The action takes place as part of a nationwide week of action initiated by 350 Aotearoa and Coal Action Network Aotearoa. Thirteen cities and towns around New Zealand are holding actions this week demanding Westpac live up to its own sustainability and climate policies and stop financing Bathurst Resources, the company which plans to open a series of new coal mines on the Denniston Plateau.

“New Zealanders have sent more than 1300 letters to Westpac over the past few weeks.  Westpac’s response so far has been that they won’t stop financing and that their climate change policies mean supporting a transition to a low-carbon future. A transition means seeing out existing mines, not opening 5 new ones as Bathurst plans to do,” said 350 spokesperson Ashlee Gross.

“So we’re here today to tell Westpac that if they stall on taking action on climate change, we’ll stall their business.”

An increasing number of major reports have looked at the planet’s remaining “global carbon budget” and highlighted that fossil fuel companies are planning to dig up five times the amount of coal, oil and gas that we can afford to burn in order to keep global warming to the internationally agreed limit of 2 degrees C.

“Westpac claims that sustainability is at the heart of their culture. Westpac needs to prove that their sustainability and climate change policies are more than greenwash,” said Coal Action Network Aotearoa spokesperson Tim Jones.

“If Westpac continue to ignore their customers the next step for many will be to switch banks.”

For more coverage and photos from the action see http://350.org.nz/wednesday-westpac-dump-coal-action-in-wellington/

The post Customers queue to demand end to Westpac support of Denniston coal mine appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

Westpac banks right across New Zealand will be the focus of a week of action this week, calling on the bank to stop funding Bathurst Resources’ bid to mine the Denniston Plateau.

The campaign, organised by 350 Aotearoa and Coal Action Network Aotearoa, began at a leading branch of Westpac in Christchurch on Saturday with around 20 activists staging a “die in” (see YouTube video). Actions will begin rolling out in other centres today, and will continue until next Saturday, with a total of 13 different towns confirmed at this point.

Bathurst Resources plans to dig up to 84 million tonnes of coal from the West Coast’s beautiful Denniston Plateau that would add up to 218 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and have a devastating effect on the area’s unique ecosystem. Westpac is providing financial backing for Bathurst Resources.

‘Westpac has not responded to calls to live up to their own promises and stop funding climate change, so we’re calling on them to do so.  We don’t consider investing in coal mining is at all consistent with Westpac’s claims that it is ‘future proofing’ its business,” said Ashlee Gross of 350 Aotearoa.

Tim Jones of Coal Action Network Aotearoa said the two groups had recently met with bank executives for a discussion about the campaign.

“In our meeting with Westpac, it became very clear to us that their so-called ‘sustainability’ policy is more about PR than it is about real action,” he said.

At least 80% of fossil fuels reserves must remain unburned in order to keep global warming to 2 degrees. The World Bank and European Investment Bank have recently announced their intentions to stop lending to coal projects, based on climate change concerns

The groups have launched a website where the public can send letters to Westpac calling on them to ‘Dump Denniston.’. 1200 letters have already been sent.

There will be activities this week in Warkworth, Auckland (2), Hamilton, Tauranga, Gisborne, Wellington, Nelson, Motueka, Takaka, Dunedin, Gore and Invercargill.

Join the event on facebook 

The post Nationwide week of action calls on Westpac to stop financing climate change appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

Coal Action Network Aotearoa’s Tim Jones says the campaign to save the West Coast’s Denniston Plateau is not over, even though Forest and Bird have decided not to appeal an Environment Court ruling signing off on a planned coal mine on the plateau.

“The world is turning its back on coal. And shareholders are getting out of Bathurst Resources” Mr Jones said. “The Norwegian Pension Fund, Norges, which holds just over $2 million in Bathurst shares, is divesting from coal. And our campaign with 350 Aotearoa, asking the Westpac Bank to stop backing Bathurst Resources, is growing fast. It’s time for Westpac to follow the Norwegians.”

“Well over 1000 people have written letters to Westpac asking the bank to stop financing the destruction of the Denniston Plateau. New Zealanders understand the importance of this stand for our country and for the climate. The coal is still in the hole, the world is changing fast and our campaign is only growing – unlike Bathurst Resources’ long-suffering shareholders.”

“To stay below the agreed two degree limit of global warming and minimise the risk of runaway climate change, climate scientists have warned that most of the industry’s coal reserves have to remain in the ground as unburnable carbon. They will be stranded assets on coal companies’ books, worth nothing.”

“Investors see the writing on the wall – Bathurst shares are not bankable in a climate change future”

Coal Action Network Aotearoa iscampaigning for a sensible phasing out of coal, with no new coal mines and appropriate support for mining communities to develop alternative livelihoods.

“Our aim, of no new coal, is in line with the rest of the world. Hamish Bohannan and Bathurst Resources are trying to profit from an old technology that we know is perilous to future generations. Alternatives to coking coal are being developed now. Coking coal is not essential to a prosperous future as the industry will have us believe” Mr Jones said. “In fact digging up more coal and adding to climate change puts a prosperous future at risk. The world does not need Denniston coal. It should stay right where it is, propping up one of New Zealanders’ most treasured wild places.”

Tim Jones
Spokesperson
Coal Action Network Aotearoa
027 359 0293

The post Norwegian Pension Fund Divests From Bathurst Resources appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.