NB: This action was organised by 350 Aotearoa and Climate Liberation Aotearoa. For more information on these groups, or to join, support or follow their work, click on the links!

Protest Notes, by Masha Oliver

We’re sitting on the edge of a man-made drainage lake, staring at the landscape scar in front of us. A hill, cut in half and completely deformed, exposing layers and layers of rock, from grey sandstone at the top through wide streaks of white to a thick vain of deep black coal. It’s like looking at an abstract painting, as well as looking back in time. A human could not paint it better. Above it, stretches a banner: “Just transition off coal.”

It’s the first day of our encampment on Denniston Plateau as part of non-violent direct action for climate justice and to protect the unique landscape and biodiversity of the Plateau. Morning graciously offers us a window of sunny weather, which we use to roll out the banners, take some photos, chant and sing out loud what needs to be heard – Protect Denniston plateau! I look around and see all these people – from kids to elders – who I’ve never met before, coming together for the same reason, to protect something we all deeply care about. There’s a wonderful feeling of pride and power resonating through us. The spirits are high as we buckle down for the cyclone that is on its way and prepare for the main actions later in the weekend.

Photo: Neil Silverwood

We’ve come here because we all – the whole planet – are running out of time. We’ve come here because there is no planet B or a spare atmosphere we could replace and wrap our Earth in. We’re here because we know everything on this planet is intricately linked and can only exist in coexistence, which requires a stable climate. We are here because the new mine on Denniston Plateau, proposed by Australian-based mining company Bathurst, if developed, will create the same amount of emissions as the whole Aotearoa New Zealand produces in a year. Over 25 years it will extract 20 million tons of coal – in an era when the rest of the world is transitioning off fossil fuels, when global warming has already overshot the predicted models, environmental collapse is happening all around us and climate events are threatening the livelihoods and homes of our communities and communities around the world.

The mine is one of the listed fast-track projects. The fast-track legislation circumvents the laws designed to protect the environment and health of people. There is no participation process in the fast-track legislation. The legislation prevents public scrutiny and bypasses environmental considerations. Fast track is an assault on the environment and democracy and it has so far, resurrected certain projects that have previously been declined as they proved environmentally unacceptable. This is happening in a country that is perceived on the world stage as the “green queen” with strong democratic roots.

Photo: Geoff Keey

The specific piece of land where the mine is proposed is public land. It belongs to all New Zealanders and is managed on behalf of Kiwis by the Department of Conservation. It is public conservation land, put aside for protection in perpetuity due to its natural values. When DOC was established in 1987, huge parts of public conservation land were put aside, waiting to get properly assessed and classified either as National Park, Conservation Area, Ecological Area or any other classification designed to protect the natural or historical values of the public conservation land. This never happened, but a reclassification process started a couple of years ago. A national panel of experts suggested this land becomes a Conservation Area –  assuring the lowest protection possible – while environmental NGOs like Forest and Bird, Environmental Defense Society and Federated Mountain Clubs among others, suggested this to be a Scientific Reserve – which protects the land to even greater extent then National Park and permits no mining. This classification was suggested due to the incredible ecological richness of the area, with many endangered and endemic species living here, many of which have not even been identified yet.

Photo: Geoff Keey

I am no scientist or ecologist. But I am a lucid observer and I have spent my entire life roaming through natural landscapes. I can tell, usually just by moving through the land, how special and alive the land is. Coming to the camp spot, I was blown away by the landscape we traversed. Sandstone pavements, rocky outcrops, bonsai-looking bush stunted by extreme living conditions, and the wild Tasman Sea in the distance. This 40 million years old plateau laying 600-1000m high, is a place close to heaven – braided with streams and gorges, dappled with areas of high wetlands, extensive pieces of land mass rolling out as far as an eye can travel, with areas covered in red tussock, takahe’s favourite delicacy. The landscape seems surreal – something I have not seen elsewhere in New Zealand and I have tramped in many places. Looking at it from the birds-eye perspective on Google Earth, it stands out from afar – if you let your eyes travel up and down the island you will not see anything like it. It is truly unique.

And so is the abundant life up here. As we make our way to the camp, a fern bird, an extremely rare bird, flies by. This is a sanctuary for Great spotted kiwi, rare skins, ancient velvet worms, giant snails, weta, geckos, rare moths … The area is, as surveys in the past showed, of high ecological value. Many species here have not been identified yet. Bathurst’s mining project, if it goes ahead, will cause irreversible biodiversity loss, habitat and landscape destruction, increased carbon emissions, and acid metallic drainage that needs critical management for 100 years. Endemic plants and animals will be lost. This will all happen on Aotearoa New Zealand public conservation land with no public input. The profits will go to a private company, with 90% overseas shareholders.

Photo: Geoff Keey

And that’s why we are here. When there is no option for advocacy and dialogue anymore, action needs to take place. Our encampment is a compact flock of colourful tents in an area that was used by Bathurst as an operational pad for the nearby mining. From where we’re camped, we can see the hill, covered in bush, that will be beheaded, if this project goes ahead. There are about 70 of us here and I don’t know one single person, but walking through the camp, I feel I have slipped into a community, where everyone knows each other and a strong quiet sense of camaraderie resonates between us. As the rain settles in, so do we, under the big marquee, where the learning and collaboration begin. We’re learning about facilitation and de-escalation strategies. We discuss and practice how to react and talk to media, police or locals if any of them turn up. We look at the issue from many sides – what would you say to a local who works in the mine and needs to put food on the table? We head out for a botanical walk, to familiarize ourselves with what is at stake. More learning follows – about the context of the fast track bill, the mining plans and Bathurst. A workshop facilitated by a local environmental group takes us through details and different perspectives of the issues – what we are about to lose, what are the gains, and what are the false gains portrayed by Bathurst and the government. The hardest part to digest it the presentation from a university researcher. We are warned it will be grim, so we brace ourselves.

Tim, who has dedicated his master’s study to climate change, takes us step by step through the facts – what we already know and what the models show. It is not pretty. In fact, it is terrifying. We have already passed 1.5-degrees warming and plants have reached the peak of carbon dioxide sequestation in 2008. Proportion absorbed has been declining since. Emissions would need to fall by 0.3% per year, just to stand still, though at the moment, they are increasing by 1.2% per year.

It is no better on the fauna front. The total global insect population has declined by 41% in the last decade and animal populations have experienced a 70% average decline since 1970. Human-made materials now outweigh Earth’s entire biomass. The amount of plastic alone is greater in mass than all land animals and marine creatures combined. Looking at the effects of global warming in New Zealand, the most jarring one is the loss of  1/3 of the entire glacier mass since 2000. The sea water heatwave in 2022 pushed the water temperature to 4.4 C above average, causing the deaths of millions of marine sponges in Fiordland.
At 3C or more of heating by 2050, there could be more than 4 billion deaths, significant sociopolitical fragmentation worldwide, failure of states – with resulting rapid, enduring, and significant loss of capital – and extinction events.

I’m listening and the facts, one by one, are landing heavy on my mind, to a point, when I feel my cheeks are hot with tears. I don’t dare to look around, as I feel that will break me, but I sense the heaviness has landed on everyone and the mood has shifted. The question is not if we are crashing or not, the question is how hard we crash.
A support and debrief session is offered after Tim’s talk to help us process what we’ve heard. I fear it will make it worse, so I walk out. When I return, I find Tara completely red-eyed. She hasn’t stopped crying.

Photo: Neil Silverwood

Ironically enough, our climate justice action coincides with the arrival of yet another cyclone. Despite persistent rain and Tim’s talk, the spirits remain high. We prepare the camp for even more rain to come – the tents are readjusted and secured by rocks, and the drainage channels are dug while the dinner is being cooked. There is very little need for coordination and instructions. Everyone seems to make themselves useful with not much talking. People see work and pick it up. Things just get done. I’m impressed with how well everything is organized and how smoothly everything seems to flow. Regular check-ins make sure we  see how we’re feeling collectively. No one seems to be taking too much space or air time. It seems all egos got left at the bottom of the hill. I wish every workplace would function like this. Decisions are made with everyone’s input, but somehow very quickly and nimbly. I have worked in many places and been part of many groups.  I have never experienced such cohesion and a sense of unity before. I haven’t even imagined something like this is possible.

Sunday is spent in preparation for the main two actions on Monday – to climb up the towers and occupy the coal buckets bringing coal from Stockton mine, stopping operations for 24 hours, which later on extends into 60 hours, and an expedition to a Happy Valley, a place of resistance and protest about 20 years ago, an operating Cypress mine today. While climbers are practising their rope work and the support crew is preparing for the off-site action, the deluge begins. The rain is hard and persistent. Only later we hear about the flooding of the roads down below the hill, in Waimangaroa. The fire brigades are called out throughout the night. The camp remains standing. As the night falls, there is a curtain of water surrounding us. We gather in one and only dry communal space, normally used as a kitchen. There’s a feeling of excitement in the air, but also the anxiety of what the morning might bring.  Everything feels heightened. Dinner is being cooked while the climbers and action groups are frantically packing in the dark, walking around with their climbing gear and harnesses still on. It is impossible not to feel in the way, or be constantly pushing through a mass of damp bodies. The camp turns into chaos for a few seconds, we’re all blinding each other with torches, frantically trying to pack or help with packing.

Photo: Neil Silverwood

The next day I wake up to the news that the bucket crew made it in the buckets. Feeling happy are not words that I use lightly, but there is no other way to feel right now. The steely sky and the promise of more rain fade away by expanding happiness and pride. Only a small group of us remain at the camp – we’re holding the fort throughout the day, as the news starts trickling in. First is the news from our groups – the bucket team, the  Happy Valley team, and the support crews. Then the media news starts popping up. And then suddenly, it’s all happening – Bathurst, Department of Conservation, our lawyer, police – everyone is on board and communicating. We get visitors to the camp – friendly locals bring us doughnuts and come to show their appreciation and support.

As I am washing the dishes, and listening to the news from our crew in the field, a robin lands on my head. A brief light touch, almost fleeting, yet a certain blessing. I know I am where I’m supposed to be.

I can still feel the brush of wild and divine on my head. It’s a reminder and a plea. To keep returning to Denniston.

I know I am not the only one, returning. We are many. And we will not give up.

Photo: Neil Silverwood

Denniston, by Ben Lowe

Denniston is the most amazing place, maybe the most amazing place in New Zealand. It is also the most pivotal place in New Zealand. The reason it is so amazing is that the flora and fauna there is unique. The reason it is so pivotal is because it perfectly encompasses the two sides of the climate debate. Under this unique environment is coal, the most climate-destroying fossil fuel.  To lose here is to lose everywhere.

Photo: Geoff Keey

The post Denniston Plateau Occupation, Easter 2025 appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

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.

Events will take place in:

– Tāmaki / Auckland (online) – 3 November, 6.30pm: https://www.facebook.com/events/264608128911637/

– Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington – Aro St Park, Aro Valley, Saturday 30 October, 2:00pm – 3:00pm: https://www.facebook.com/events/288366706503848/

– Ōtepoti / Dunedin – The Octagon, Saturday 30 October, 11.30am-1pm: https://www.facebook.com/events/580229856431323/

– Waihōpai / Invercargill – Queens Park, Saturday 30 October, 3.00pm -4.00pm

Across the motu people can register and receive action packs via post or email: https://act.350.org/signup/rsvp-fossil-free-schools-week-action/

Wherever you are in the country, you can sign the petition for 100% renewable energy in schools: https://350.org.nz/fossil-free-schools/#sign-petition and check out the toolkits for the general public and students (including colour-in postcards, information about a student art & writing competition, letter writing templates, petition to print out and more): https://350.org.nz/fossil-free-schools/#toolkits

The post Fossil Free Schools Week of Action – 29 October to 4 November appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

To: Regional Councils, Minister of Energy and Resources Megan Woods, Minister for Environment David Parker, Minister for Climate Change James Shaw

The post Petition: No New Fossil Fuel Permits or Expansions in Aotearoa appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

The post “Fuelling Dissension” appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

The MFE consultation document also acknowledges the importance of transport emissions for air quality  (p.24), but defers to the Ministry of Transport, which also has a goal of reducing 2.5 micrometer particulate emissions.

In the process of researching these issues, however, CANA has found a distinct lack of information on air quality and public health in the communities below the Buller Coal Plateau. These communities, such as Waimangaroa and Granity (pictured) are exposed to coal dust from the mining and transport of coal, as well as emissions from coal- and wood-burning domestic appliances.

The situation in these communities appears very similar to that of Australian towns in coal-mining areas a decade ago.

To quote from the conclusion of a 2009 study of public health in the Upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales (emphasis ours),

The post CANA supports improved Air Quality Standards, questions the state of public health in the Buller appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

He estimated warming of 6-7 C by 2100 on RCP8.5 (Business as Usual), rather than 4C, but said it won’t be official until the next IPCC report comes out.

His presentation is here:

NB: While we’re not strictly on the RCP8.5 pathway, due to mitigation efforts underway, it appears that we’ve got a lot less time and carbon budget than previously thought, regardless of trajectory.

Here is an article on this disturbing development.

Given the importance of this news, I asked Dr. Jim Salinger to comment on the new modelling results; his edited comments, and those of other climate scientists he canvassed, follow.

Jim Salinger

The jury is still out – this is the feedback I am receiving from my modelling colleagues:

“On the models, I would be, for the time being at least, very suspicious of the new CMIP6 results. The most likely reason for the increased sensitivity is a markedly bigger decrease in projected low/medium level cloudiness than in CMIP5 models or a marked increase in cirrus clouds, or both.”

Peter Barrett

The key question for planners will be how much risk to accept for decision-making on strategies for the future. As a geologist, my bet is on the high end with increasing climate sensitivity with warmth on account of feedbacks.

Martin Manning

… summaries of the issues can be found at:

https://climatenewsnetwork.net/climate-models-predict-bigger-heat-rise-ahead/

and

https://phys.org/news/2019-09-earth-quickly-climate.html

It seems that so far the two French modelling groups are the only ones to have said these are the final results for the WMO / CMIP6 model intercomparison project, but groups in the UK and USA are coming up with similar results and CMIP6 is running about 12 months behind schedule to finalise its results for use in the next IPCC assessment report.

The deadline for that report cannot be changed, but if the IPCC still has any control of its reporting process then it should probably now say there will be a follow up special report on climate projections about two years later.

That is because it is going to take at least that long to try and resolve differences between different ways of estimating the temperature response to increasing GHGs.

At the moment those using paleoclimatic data and those using recent observations of temperature over the last 100 years are staying with the lower estimates for climate sensitivity. So at this stage it is still a question about the reliability of the models and whether future temperature changes are going to be like a simple extrapolation of past changes.

The bottom line is that the experts are still not sure whether the new models are right. That has been the case for model estimates of sea level rise for more than ten years now.

I think we are just going to have to get used to recognising that uncertainty ranges for the future are increasing rather than decreasing.

The post Climate models are running hot 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.

Writing in Newsroom, Jeanette Fitzsimons and Cindy Baxter of CANA have exposed a major impediment to reducing NZ’s carbon emissions.

The post A major loophole threatens the Zero Carbon bill appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

I hope these comments will help you make your own submissions, the deadline for which is September 20

– Jeanette Fitzsimons

The Minerals and Petroleum Resource Strategy document is about our overall approach to mining of both fossil fuels and other minerals. It is crucial to get this right as it will govern coal mines and oil and gas, and therefore climate change, and whether or not, and how, we phase out fossil fuels, for the next ten years. It is absolutely what we are about and your critique is essential.

Our Declaration says

Reduce the extraction and burning of fossil fuels to 50% by 2025 and to zero by 2030:

(i) prevent all new and expanded coal mines and coal burning plants;

(ii) end deep sea oil exploration and fracking for oil and gas.

The draft Strategy instead proposes reducing them somewhat, but envisages continued mining and burning of fossil fuels for many decades, with no suggested end point. This is ecocide, and we must call it that.

The draft Strategy is at Responsibly Delivering Value: A Minerals and Petroleum Resource Strategy for Aotearoa New Zealand: 2019-2029.

You can contribute in two ways:

1. Read the Strategy and write your thoughts and send to the address given for submissions.

2. MBIE prefer that you go to their website and click on “Complete our submission form”.

The second seems very limiting – the questions are all multiple choice from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree” – but you can choose to ignore some of them and there are lots of spaces for you to give reasons and disagree, etc.

I’ve decided to do it this way and make their form, which they will take notice of, work for my ideas.

The main points, as I see it, are:

1. There is no distinction made between fossil fuels, which must go to zero as fast as possible because they are driving climate change, and other minerals which should be assessed on their environmental impact. There is no distinction made between aggregates, rock used for roading and concrete which are abundant and can be mined with very low impact, and minerals like gold which cause major environmental disruption. Metals essential for the transition to a zero carbon economy (eg lithium, cobalt) should be given priority over those which are merely “nice to have” (eg gold – there is enough gold already above ground for essential industrial uses.)
2. The draft Strategy is not consistent with the Government’s policy on climate change, which is to achieve zero carbon by 2050 under the Paris Accord. Everything in the Strategy must fit within the framework of the climate emergency, and the need to change the ways we do things. BAU is not an option anymore. Reference this to recent science if you can.
3. It is not good enough to say (Principle 1) that ecosystems and biodiversity must be “respected”. So we say a little prayer and carry on as in the past? We should insist on the word “protected”.
4. Principle 10 (continuing production and exploration under current permits) puts the property rights of miners ahead of the transition to zero carbon. It means renewal and expansion of existing oil drilling licences even when there is a ban on new oil drilling. We should not accept any form of Principle 10 for fossil fuels, and for other resources it should be dependent on environmental impact.
5. Gas is NOT a sustainable bridge to a low carbon (let alone zero carbon) economy. It’s carbon dioxide emissions are more like 60% of coal rather than the 50% often quoted by industry, and we have to add to that significant methane releases from all parts of the production and use cycle. They know this! Particularly, any new gas wells or infrastructure will be used for decades and take us backwards from the zero carbon future. It should be phased out in the same way as coal and oil.
6. The Strategy should set a timeframe for the phase out of fossil fuels, starting with no new coal mines or oil and gas wells, and protecting essential uses of these fuels (eg steel making) for as long as possible, while closing down uses for which there are good substitutes, like electricity generation, promptly.
7. There is lip service paid to a circular economy, which is good, but no steps to take to start the difficult journey to get there. This needs a strategy on its own.
8. The diagrams beginning on page 17 are very useful for people who have not previously engaged with the process; but the section on mining techniques doesn’t even mention fracking! This is the most destructive of techniques and needs to stop as part of the phase out. It is only used for oil and gas.
9. The Strategy proposes “balancing impacts across all 4 capitals”. This is not OK! Climate and environmental protection must take precedence over revenue to the Crown, for example.

Thank you for reading this. I hope these comments will help you make your own submissions, the deadline for which is September 20

– Jeanette Fitzsimons

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