In light of the urgency contained in this week’s IPCC Synthesis Report, the coal industry must end its shameful and dishonest PR strategy. This strategy has been adopted by the global industry and its political supporters. It all began with Peabody Coal. The report found:

“While Peabody talks about energy poverty, other organisations act. The United Nations, World Bank, governments and non-government organisations are addressing energy poverty through programs relating to electrification, lighting and improving access to cooking facilities … None of the main energy poverty initiatives promotes the use of coal. Perhaps because of this, the coal industry does not support any of the main energy poverty initiatives.”

“It is one thing to refuse to do anything to relieve global poverty, but to lie about the appalling impacts of the product you make is a whole other dimension of unacceptability,” said Greenpeace Energy & Climate campaigner, Nic Clyde.

The Australia Institute report finds that:

• coal is bad for humanity, with coal use “often associated with lower life expectancy due to health impacts of indoor and outdoor air pollution and the global health impacts of climate change”.
• the coal industry has failed on a grand scale, to capture and store their pollution, with “less than one tenth of one per cent (0.07 per cent) of the world’s total 33,376 million tonnes of emissions” captured and stored each year
• that with alternatives becoming cheaper, developing countries are “likely to reduce coal use much earlier in their development”.

“Coal is not helping the poor to move out of poverty, its killing people. A report produced by Greenpeace India and two other NGO’s last year entitled Coal Kills, estimated that in 2011-2012, emissions from Indian coal plants resulted in 80,000 to 115,000 premature deaths,” said Clyde.

At approximately 210 GW, India has the fifth largest electricity generation sector in the world, of which 66% comes from coal. Despite this, a third of the population that lives in rural India does not have access to electricity.

Five months ago, Greenpeace India worked with the rural community in Dharnai, India, and built a 100 kilowatt (kW) solar-powered micro-grid, currently providing electricity to more than 2,400 people living in Dharnai village in Bihar’s Jehanabad district.

“While India was growing in leaps and bounds, we were stuck here for the last 30 years, trying everything in the book to get electricity,” said Kamal Kishore, a resident of Dharnai. “We were forced to struggle with kerosene lamps and expensive diesel generators. But now I can proudly say that Dharnai is a leader in innovation. We have established our identity as an energy self-sufficient village and can compete with the country in its race to growth.”

“The IPCC report launched last Sunday makes it clear the world must move to a fossil fuel free future in order to have one,” said Clyde. “The coal industry can either spend its money diversifying into the clean energy industry or go the way of other industries who have been outflanked by progress. Whatever it decides, lying about the role of coal in global poverty alleviation is no longer an option,” concluded Clyde.

For more information contact

Greenpeace Climate & energy campaigner Nic Clyde 0438 282 409

Greenpeace Communications Officer, Julie Macken 0400 925 217

Note to Editors:

In a recently released Greenpeace report on Whitehaven’s social license called Whitehaven Coal: No Future, it found the Australian mining industry not only accepts the need for such a licence, it also offers guidance on how to achieve that outcome saying:

“To maintain an SLO (social licence to operate) mining companies must keep their promises and commitments, respond to the community’s concerns and requests, ensure that information is not only delivered but also understood by all stakeholders, be accountable to the communities at all stages of the project cycle, and not engage in dishonest or irresponsible behaviour.”

This Summit originated in Greg Hunt’s pre-election commitment to broker ‘a global deal to protect rainforests’ in order to protect the climate.  At the recent Ban ki Moon Climate Change Summit in New York, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said this Rainforest Summit formed part of the Australian Government’s ‘practical solutions approach’ to climate change.

Why global action to protect rainforests is needed

Action to protect rainforests is urgently needed, to protect forests and forest-dependent peoples, and to avert dangerous climate change. As much as 80 per cent of the world's forests have been degraded or destroyed.

•    Deforestation accounts for approximately 10 - 15% of global carbon emissions. It also destroys biodiversity:  The rainforests of the Indonesian archipelago, for example, house orang-utans, elephants, tigers, and the Sumatran rhinoceros that are endangered due to forest clearing.
•    Indonesia has the highest rate of deforestation in the world. In 2012 emissions from Indonesia’s peat lands alone were estimated to be more than double Australia’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions.

Paper and palm oil driving deforestation

The mass destruction of Indonesia's rainforests and carbon-rich peatlands for palm oil and paper is the main reason why Indonesia is one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases.

APRIL
Greenpeace and other NGO’s have exposed that Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd (APRIL), for example, is currently clearing deep peat lands in Sumatra, while local communities heavily oppose this, and has plans to clear another 100,000 ha in Kalimantan for its pulp and paper operations.

APRIL, part of the Sukanto Tanoto-owned RGE group is Indonesia’s second largest pulp and paper companies, with global distribution including to Australia.

The Abbott government: Paper tiger?

The Abbott government's record so far:
•    In the May Budget, the Abbott government appeared to cut all funds from Australian aid programs targeted at combating deforestation in our region.
•    At the recent New York Summit, the Australian government failed to sign the New York Declaration on Forests, a voluntary pledge by 32 governments (including Canada, the United States and Indonesia) and 40 companies to halt deforestation by 2030.

What the Australian government must do:
This summit will show whether the Australian government has a real concrete plan for the region, or is just a paper tiger. The test for the Australian Government is whether it commits to three concrete actions to tackle deforestation in our region:
1.    Commit significant finance for forest conservation and land tenure reform in our region. Funding for forest protection needs to come in addition to cuts in emissions from fossil fuels, not through “forest offsets.”
2.    Support Indonesian government efforts to enforce forest conservation and anti-corruption laws and enact and enforce legislative frameworks to effectively protect natural forests and peatlands.
3.    Develop policies that ensure “deforestation free products” for Australian consumers and help level the playing field for companies that have committed to eliminate deforestation and human rights abuses from their supply chain. This includes enforcing the Illegal Logging Act and adopting ‘deforestation-free’ procurement policies. 

What global action to protect rainforests looks like

What the Indonesian government should do:
Greenpeace is calling on the new Indonesian government under President Jokowi to:
1.    Strengthen forest governance and develop and enforce a legislative framework to protect High Carbon Stock forests and full protection of peatlands. Until such a framework is in place, Indonesia should:
2.    Extend and strengthen the moratorium to cover all forests and peatlands including those within existing concessions  
3.    Fast-track the development and publication of One Map

What the Australian government must do:
1.    Governments should immediately start enforcing forest conservation and anti-corruption laws while reshaping their legislative frameworks to effectively protect natural forests and peatlands.
2.    Governments need to secure and protect the rights and territories of indigenous peoples.
3.    Companies should immediately halt forest clearance and implement effective No Deforestation policies.
4.    Donor governments need to put their money where their mouth is and commit significant finance for forest conservation and land tenure reform. Funding for forest protection needs to come in addition to drastic cuts in emissions from fossil fuels.
5.    Governments need to cut financing for projects that contribute to deforestation and degradation, including industrial logging and the expansion of monoculture plantations in High Carbon Stock (HCS) forests.
6.    Finally, governments in consumer markets need to help cut the demand for products and commodities linked to deforestation. They should develop public policies and measures that ensure “deforestation free products” for consumers and help level the playing field for companies that have committed to eliminate deforestation and human rights abuses from their supply chain.

For more information, contact:
Australia
Jessica Panegyres, Forest Campaigner, Greenpeace Australia Pacific,
Mobile: 0424090396; Email: jessica.panegyres@greenpeace.org
Indonesia
Teguh Surya, Forest Political Campaigner, Greenpeace SEA Indonesia.
Mobile: +62 81915191979.  Phone; +62 21 521 2552 Email: teguh.surya@greenpeace.org

“Before the election, Greg Hunt pledged to deliver a global deal to protect rainforests,” said Greenpeace Forest Campaigner Jessica Panegyres. “Today’s announcement of $6 million in funding must be seen in the context of the government’s clear-felling of environmental budgets this year and this summit will show whether the Australian government has a real concrete plan for the region, or is just a paper tiger.”

“The forests in our region are disappearing fast and Australia has a vital role to play in protecting them,” said Panegyres. “Urgent action to protect rainforests is a not only a life-line for forest-dependent peoples and critically endangered animals such as the Sumatran tiger, but is essential for us all. Forests are critical to averting dangerous climate change.”

The test for the Australian Government is whether it commits to three concrete actions to tackle deforestation in our region:

- Commit significant finance for forest conservation and land tenure reform in our region. Funding for forest protection needs to come in addition to cuts in emissions from fossil fuels, not through 'forest offsets'

- Support Indonesian government efforts to enforce forest conservation and anti-corruption laws and enact legislative frameworks to effectively protect natural forests and peatlands.

- Develop policies that ensure “deforestation free products” for Australian consumers and help level the playing field for companies that have committed to eliminate deforestation and human rights abuses from their supply chain. This includes enforcing the Illegal Logging Act and adopting ‘deforestation-free’ procurement policies. 

Read the Rainforest Summit Briefing

It is reported that the Queensland Government plans to use the dredge waste for land reclamation and further port expansion.

“This is not a bandaid for reef dredging but salt in the wound,” said Greenpeace Head of Research Mr Adam Walters.

“The very idea that Queensland taxpayers should fund destruction of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area by buying dredge waste to build an even larger port at Abbot Point is insulting.

“This Queensland Government has once again shown it is the enemy of the Reef and cannot be trusted as its guardian.

“Faced with community outrage at plans to dump on the Reef the Queensland government has proposed the next worst solution.

"It has been reported that the Queensland Govenrment is asking the Federal Environment Minister Mr Greg Hunt to approve the new scheme.

"Minister Hunt should reject this proposal as absurd.

“The Queensland Government must explain how a bigger port, damaging dredge plumes, seagrass destruction, increased shipping and coal driven climate change is in the interests of the Reef,” Mr Walters said.

Contact: Adam Walters Greenpeace Australia Pacific 0408 029 181 or Alison Orme 0432 332 104

During Greenpeace’s three month campaign, more than one million people signed a petition calling on LEGO to stop promoting Shell’s brand because of its plans to drill for oil in the pristine Arctic. In stark contrast to Shell, LEGO’s policies include a commitment to produce more renewable energy than they use, phase out oil in their products and, in cooperation with its partners, leave a better world for future generations [3].

In its statement, LEGO argued the dispute was between Greenpeace and Shell. However, Greenpeace insists that while LEGO is doing the right thing under public pressure, it should choose its partners more carefully when it comes to the threats facing our children from climate change. Due to contractual obligations, LEGO’s current co-promotion with Shell will be honoured.

Ian Duff, Arctic campaigner at Greenpeace, said: “This is a major blow to Shell. It desperately needs partners like LEGO to help give it respectability and repair the major brand damage it suffered after its last Arctic misadventure. Lego’s withdrawal from a 50 year relationship with Shell clearly shows that strategy will not work.”

“The tide is turning for these fossil fuel dinosaurs that see the melting Arctic as ripe for exploitation rather than protection. The message should be clear; your outdated, climate wrecking practices are no longer socially acceptable, and you need to keep away from the Arctic or face being ostracised by society.”

LEGO is the latest in a line of leading global companies to walk away from a relationship with the fossil fuel industry. In late 2012 Waitrose announced it has put its partnership with Shell on ice [4] and in the last month Microsoft, Google and Facebook all made commitments to end their support for ALEC, a controversial lobby group that campaigns against climate change legislation [5]. Only weeks ago, the Rockefeller Foundation announced it will begin pulling its investments in the fossil fuel industry [6].

In September, Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter accompanied Kiribati President Anote Tong to the Arctic to highlight its importance to countries on the climate change front line. "The Arctic may seem distant, but it's health is vital to all of us," said Ritter. "Lego's decision is yet another clear sign that the world is turning its back on companies such as Shell who are putting the Arctic - and our future - at risk."

Shell’s past attempts to drill in the Arctic have been plagued with multiple operational failings culminating in the running aground of its drilling rig, the Kulluk. The extreme Arctic conditions, including giant floating ice-bergs and stormy seas, make offshore drilling extremely risky. And scientists say that in the Arctic, an oil spill would be impossible to clean up meaning devastation for the Arctic’s unique wildlife [7].

But on 28 August 2014 Shell submitted new plans to the US administration for offshore exploratory drilling in the Alaskan Arctic [8], meaning it’s on course to resurrect its Arctic drilling plans as early as summer 2015.

In the past two years, a massive global movement has emerged calling for a sanctuary around the North Pole, to protect the Arctic and its unique wildlife from the onslaught of oil drilling and industrial fishing. More than six million people have joined the movement, and more than 1,000 influential people have signed an Arctic Declaration, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Emma Thompson and Sir Paul McCartney.

On 19 September UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, met with Arctic campaigners to receive a global petition and said he would consider convening an international summit to discuss the issue of Arctic protection.

Contact for media requests: James Lorenz on 0418 408 683

Note to editors:

As part of the campaign, Greenpeace released a video LEGO: Everything is NOT awesome which reached nearly six million views. The video was temporarily taken down from YouTube because of a copyright complaint which was later withdrawn.

www.savethearctic.org

Report: LEGO is keeping bad company: no more playdates with Shell
Media briefing: Shell’s threat to the Arctic 

End notes: 
[1] Lego statement

[2] Shell Submits a Plan for New Exploration of Alaskan Arctic, New York Times, 2014 
[3] LEGO’s values, see http://aboutus.lego.com/en-gb/sustainability/our-approach 
[4] You did it! Waitrose puts Shell relationship on ice, Greenpeace, 2012 
[5] Facebook set to become latest tech giant to abandon rightwing lobby group Alec, Guardian, 2014 
[6] Rockefellers go green: Rockefeller foundation divests funds in fossil fuel industries, Independent, 2014  
[7] Oil Spill Prevention and Response in the U.S. Arctic Ocean, The PEW Charitable Trusts, 2010
[8] Shell Submits a Plan for New Exploration of Alaskan Arctic, New York Times, 2014

Campaign for clearer seafood labelling by top enviro groups, chefs, academics, celebs

16 October 2015. Peak environment groups, top chefs, fishers, academics and celebrities are calling for more accurate labelling of seafood in Australia, with the launch of the ‘Label My Fish’ campaign in Sydney today.

The Label My Fish Alliance is demanding improved consumer protection laws to require clear labelling of all seafood, including what fish it is, where it is from and how it was caught or farmed. Clearer labelling in fish shops, takeaways and restaurants will help protect public health, boost the Australian fishing industry and preserve fish for the future.

Members of the new alliance include Greenpeace, the Australian Marine Conservation Society, Taronga and Zoos Victoria and the SEA LIFE Conservation Fund, campaigning with Gourmet Farmer, chef and former restaurant critic Matthew Evans.  Prominent individuals backing the campaign include actor Richard Roxburgh, Quay Chef Peter Gilmore, MoVida chef Frank Camorra and NY Times best-selling ‘I Quit Sugar’ author Sarah Wilson.

A Senate Inquiry into seafood labelling is now underway, due to report on 4 December.

Greenpeace CEO David Ritter says,“Australia’s seafood labelling laws are weak and consumers are in the dark about what seafood they’re buying and eating. Most Australians think they’re purchasing Australian seafood, when the reality is we now import approximately 70 per cent from overseas.

“Simple measures, requiring labelling of what fish we are eating, where it is from and how it was caught, are long overdue and will bring Australia into line with the European Union.

“Recent research by Greenpeace shows, for example, that the Aussie ‘flathead’ we think we are eating may well be an imported, cheaper South American fish, of a completely different family, bottom trawled in Argentinean waters.  But there is often no labelling on your pub or fast food menu, or packet of frozen ‘flathead’, to reveal the truth.”

Gourmet Farmer, chef and former restaurant critic Matthew Evans said,“Imagine a menu that offered ‘mammal and root vegetable’, or ‘bird and green leaf’. It would be considered ridiculous. In Australia you can simply write ‘fish’ on a menu, without much of a problem.

“Some seafood we eat damages our marine environment, is produced by people under unfair conditions and may carry risks to our health.  

“What we really need is to know just what's on our plates. Only then can we make decisions about what we put in our mouths, making choices that will also help protect our oceans.”

Pavo Walker, a commercial tuna fisherman from Queensland, said, “Not every seafood product on the market is a good choice for consumers.  Giving the public more information about what fish they're buying and eating will help our oceans and local fishers".

Australian Marine Conservation Society Director Darren Kindleysides said,“AMCS has been producing Australia’s Sustainable Seafood Guide for a decade now. It’s clear that Australians want to do the right thing and choose sustainable seafood, but our current seafood labelling system means they are generally fishing in the dark.

“Shark, sold as ‘flake’ and popular in fish and chip shops, could be anything from Australian caught gummy shark to a threatened species of shark.

“As the public cannot tell if they are buying from seafood producers fishing with an eye on the future, it’s harder for sustainable fishers to reap the market rewards.

“These simple and inexpensive reforms are long overdue. AMCS have been calling for improvements in seafood labelling for a decade. We now have a real opportunity to take our labelling laws into the 21st century, so the public can know at all points of sale what fish they are choosing, where is came from and how it was produced.”

Visit www.labelmyfish.com for more information, a background report (includes detailed case studies of poor labelling) and a growing list of high profile supporters.

Contact: Alison Orme Greenpeace Media 0432 332 104 - alison.orme@greenpeace.org

Case studies: the impact of weak seafood labelling laws on consumers

Flathead. ‘Flathead’ is popular in fish and chip shops, restaurants and retailed as frozen fillets.  But when we buy ‘flathead’ it may well be an imported South American fish, of a completely different family (Percophis brasiliensis).  The imported ‘flathead’ is much cheaper - up to $20 per kilo less. But there’s often no labelling on your pub or fast food menu, or packet of frozen ‘flathead’, to indicate you’re not buying Aussie flathead, but a cheap imitation caught by destructive bottom trawling in Argentinean waters.

Barramundi. Australians rate barramundi as their favourite fish in restaurants.About 90 per cent of us believe the barramundi we are consuming is Australian yet over two thirds of the barramundi we eat is imported from Asia. 

Mercury in fish. Some fish contain high and potentially unsafe levels of mercury. Too much mercury can harm pregnant women and young children. For this reason government authorities recommend that pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children restrict the amount they eat of certain species, including shark (flake), catfish and orange roughy. If Australians are not told which species they’re eating they are unable to act on warnings.

Orange roughy. ‘Orange roughy’ (Hoplostethus atlanticus) is very sensitive to overfishing and has been overfished in the past. Environment groups advise against eating it but conscientious consumers can’t do the right thing because it goes by a number of names on restaurant menus, including ‘deep sea perch’ and ‘sea perch’.

Squid and octopus. Australian squid and octopus fisheries are generally considered to have healthy stocks that can be harvested in a way that causes relatively little harm to the environment. Despite what many of us think though, around 80 per cent of the squid and octopus we eat is caught overseas. The product comes from fisheries which are often overfished, subject to inferior fishery management schemes and harvested in a damaging way - squid via trawling and octopus via bottom trawling - leading to bycatch concerns. But can you tell an Australian squid or octopus from its imported cousin? 

“Whitehaven Coal has done the near impossible,” said Greenpeace Climate & Energy campaigner, Nic Clyde. “They have managed to so alienate local farmers, the Traditional Owners of the Leard State Forest, large environmental groups, religious leaders, doctors and war veterans that an historic alliance is now working together to oppose the company and its product – coal.”

The report finds in an already difficult investment conditions, WHC faces four specific disadvantages:

1. WHC lacks a social licence to operate, guaranteeing ongoing opposition

2. WHC has become a focus of the national and global fossil fuel divestment campaign

3. WHC is a pure play coal company, with zero diversification to insulate against the structural decline of coal

4. The company’s green field Maules Creek mine is the largest new open cut coal mine currently under construction in Australia. In a carbon-constrained world the commercial risk for WHC is that established mines, with infrastructure close to ports and end use power plants, will have a competitive claim on markets.

“The fact that WHC’s CEO, Paul Flynn, refers to the divestment movement as ’green imperialism’ shows how little the company understands the situation it is in,” said 350.org CEO, Blair Palese. “The global divestment movement is highlighting the risks posed by a business-as-usual approach to the consumption of fossil fuels and of course the worst behaved companies fit that frame better than any others,” concluded Palese.

“Climate change is an essentially moral issue so it’s no great leap of the imagination to see why religious people are taking stand,” said Thea Ormerod, head of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change.

“WHC’s treatment of local farming community, the Traditional Owners and the way the company has sought to get away with clearing in winter, speaks volumes about its attitude to the community. Is it any wonder large sections of the community have withdrawn their support for such a destructive company,” concluded Ormerod.

“An open cut mine is hardly a fly-by-night proposition,” said Clyde. “And opposition to this mine and the company will continue into the foreseeable future. Investors have every right to feel deeply disappointed in this controversial company.”

On 2 November, 2014 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will release its Synthesis Report of the findings of its Fifth Assessment Report. The IPCC report will warn that “continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all components of the climate system, increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems.” It is this global dynamic that WHC needs to deal with.

The report, Whitehaven Coal: No Future is available here.

For further information contact:

Greenpeace Climate & Energy campaigner, Nic Clyde: 0438 282 409
CEO 350.org, Blair Palese: 0414 659 511
ARRCC, Thea Ormerod: 0407 526 342
Greenpeace media officer, Julie Macken: 0400 925 217

As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, Citi bank has baulked at funding Abbot Point. A further three banks, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase, have expressed serious concerns about the impact the project will have on the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef and cast doubt over their future involvement.

The move by major U.S. banks follows similar statements by Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Barclays and signals that the Adani Group and GVK may be unsuccessful in their bid to secure an estimated $26.5 billion in external financing necessary for the planned expansion of coal export facilities and associated mine and rail infrastructure at Abbot Point, on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef.

Australian NGOs - including the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Greenpeace, 350.org, Lock the Gate, GetUp, SumOfUs, the Australian Marine Conservation Society, Australian Conservation Foundation, Birdlife Australia and Friends of the Earth - have congratulated the US banks, and called on Australia’s Big 4 to follow suit.

Sam Mclean, National Director of GetUp! said: "Today's news shows the campaign to save the Reef is a truly global one. It's incredible to think the biggest banks in the world will protect our Reef, but our own Australian banks won't. It’s time for them to step up.” 

Lucy Manne, National Co-director of The Australian Youth Climate Coalition said: "The big banks spend millions on marketing campaigns designed to attract young customers - but young Australians want to see the Great Barrier Reef and our climate protected."

David Ritter, CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific said: “As international banks back away from the controversial new Abbot Point coal terminal, Adani is scrambling for cash. The company is even considering selling some of its assets to fund the new terminal.”

Blair Palese of 350.org Australia said: “If the banks don’t distance themselves from these projects, then their customers and investors will distance themselves from the banks.”

Felicity Wishart, Great Barrier Reef campaign director with the Australian Marine Conservation Society said: "It’s now time for the Australian and Queensland governments to stop giving this project special treatment, stop the efforts to fast track it and acknowledge the serious environmental risk this port expansion poses to the health of the Reef.”

Over 2 million people worldwide have taken action to protect the Great Barrier Reef from coal developments.

For comment please contact:

Lucy Manne, AYCC, 0417 387 516, David Ritter, Greenpeace, 0407 997 657, Sam Mclean, GetUp,0499 319 385, Blair Palese, 350.org, 0414659511, Felicity Wishart, AMCS, 0408 222 746

For video or images, go to:

Images: http://www.greenpeacemedia.org/main.php?g2_itemId=19146

username: photos  password: green

Video: http://www.greenpeacemedia.org/main.php?g2_itemId=19188

username: photos  password: green

Use "Add movie to cart" to download zipfile

“By willfully undermining renewable energy in Australia, the Abbott Government is showing the lengths it will go to prop up its friends in the fossil fuel industry,” said Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner Nikola Casule. “Labor is right to walk away from the Renewable Energy Target negotiations in the face of the government’s industrial sabotage.”

“When the effects of dangerous climate change - from extreme weather to rising sea levels - are being felt all over the world, it is criminal for the government to be attacking a successful scheme which has substantially cut carbon pollution in Australia.”

“Even aside from the obvious environmental benefits, the Renewable Energy Target has created tens of thousands of jobs and resulted in billions of dollars of investment,” said Casule. “The government’s own modelling shows that the Renewable Energy Target will reduce electricity prices in the medium term. It’s no wonder that survey after survey shows that renewable energy has the overwhelming support of Australians. Renewable energy’s only sin has been to put yet another dent in the ailing business model of the fossil fuel industry.”

Greenpeace Australia Pacific has produced a report analysing how and why Australia’s biggest three energy retailers - Origin, EnergyAustralia and AGL - have been working to undermine the target in their own interests.

“The government’s attempt to slash the Renewable Energy Target is a retrograde effort to undermine an industry which is central to Australia’s future and to ensuring a habitable planet,” said Casule. “It’s time for this government to pull its head out of the sand, and support renewable energy in Australia by strengthening the Renewable Energy Target.’

The warning follows today’s release of a new report naming the Spanish boats among the world’s most destructive fishing vessels and a video featuring fishermen from Kiribati experiencing dwindling tuna catches and struggling to feed their families.

“Local Kiribati fishermen say it’s getting harder to catch tuna to feed their families, and this observation matches current science on the state of Pacific tuna,” said Greenpeace oceans campaigner Lagi Toribau.

“Bigeye tuna is down to just 16 per cent of its original population size,[1] and foreign longliners and purse-seine vessels like the Spanish owned Albatun Tres and Albacora Uno are largely to blame,” he said.

“These two vessels catch as much tuna in three fishing trips as the entire Kiribati artisanal fleet catches in a year.”

The Albatun Tres and Albacora Uno are two of the largest tuna fishing boats in the world. The two vessels fish in the Kiribati economic exclusion zone under a bilateral agreement with the EU. Unlike the local Kiribati fishermen who fish sustainably, the Albatun Tres and Albacora Uno employ fish aggregation devices (FADs) that result in juvenile bigeye and yellowfin being caught before they have had a chance to breed and the Albacora Uno has been repeatedly fined for illegal fishing in the Pacific.

“For most Kiribati people, tuna is the primary source of protein - on some islands, it is the only source. If Kiribati people can’t catch tuna, they go hungry,” said Mr Toribau.

“Meanwhile, the company behind the Albatun Tres and Albacora Uno - Albacora group - is the biggest tuna fishing company in Europe, with revenues roughly triple the GDP of Kiribati.”

“Pacific island countries receive less than 10% of the value of their fisheries. How is that fair?”

“The EU should pay a fair price and respect Pacific fishing rules or take its monsterboats and leave,” said Mr Toribau. “That means negotiating fairly and signing a new deal in line with regional agreements to manage fish stocks collectively,” said Mr Toribau.

"The EU must play its part in reducing foreign fishing capacity in the region to allow bigeye and other tuna stocks to recover and local, sustainable fisheries in Pacific Island countries to flourish,” he added.

Greenpeace launched a global campaign last week calling on people to support low impact fishers and help ensure fair fishing. By focusing attention on some of the top culprits of global overfishing, the campaign challenges governments to eliminate excessive fishing capacity and to give preferential access to fishing opportunities to low-impact fishers as required under the new EU Common Fisheries Policy[2]. Greenpeace is urging Pacific Island countries, over time, to transform their fisheries to a local, sustainable model.

ENDS

New photos from Kiribati: http://www.greenpeacemedia.org/main.php?g2_itemId=19235 username: photos password: green

Video about Kiribati fishing: http://youtu.be/LPodP7ioJZI

Lagi Toribau in Kiribati and available for comment Ph: +686 50898 (Kiribati) or +679 9254823 (Fiji)

For interviews, hi-res video, or more info, contact: Elsa Evers +61 (0) 438 204 041 (Australia)

[1] Scientific assessment tabled at the 10th meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) Scientific Committee in the Marshall Islands, 2014.

[2] The rules governing fishing fleets in the European Union (EU) have recently been reformed. The new rules require the EU to lower its fishing pressure by the start of next year (2015) to levels below the rate that will enable stocks to rebuild. They also specify that governments must promote responsible, low-impact fishing and put in place action plans to eliminate overcapacity where it exists. Fishing opportunities should preferentially be given to those operators who fish in the least environmentally damaging way and who provide the greatest benefits for society.

“We are ramping up our call for Sydney University to divest from environmental vandal, Whitehaven Coal,” said Greenpeace Climate Campaigner, Nikola Casule. “Right now, this company is gearing up to continue bulldozing endangered forest and Indigenous heritage sites in the Leard State Forest for its Maules Creek coal mine. It has no place in the portfolio of a leading institution.”

When fully operational, Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek coal mine will accelerate dangerous climate change by contributing around 30 million tons of CO 2 per year. But faced with a global shift toward action to cut carbon pollution, Whitehaven’s share price is down about 30% since 1 September 2014. This has resulted in approximately $650m of shareholder wealth lost.
 
In the last four years, Whitehaven Coal is down 80% to $1.33 per share, meaning A$5.8bn of shareholder wealth has been destroyed. This is consistent with Peabody Energy, Arch Coal, or Cockatoo Coal, or almost any major listed western coal company. ASX-listed Queensland coal company Bandanna Energy has even entered into voluntary administration.

“Coal investments have become a major wealth hazard,” said Casule. “Smart investors are increasingly aware that the thermal seaborne coal market is in structural decline and are pulling their cash out fast. The fact is, investing in Whitehaven, or any other coal company, is as bad for your bank balance as it is for your reputation. The University of Sydney needs to divest from this destructive coal company before it’s too late.”

The University of Sydney announced a review into its fossil fuel investments in August after Greenpeace revealed the University held $1 million in shares in Whitehaven Coal.

View PIX of the launch– username: photos. Password: green

For more information contact Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner Nikola Casule on 0428 769 307 or Communications Manager James Lorenz on 0400 376 021

“Premier Campbell Newman is offering a paycheck to a foreign company with a shocking track record to dredge up our Great Barrier Reef and build a dirty great coal mine,” said Greenpeace reef campaigner Shani Tager.

“Our premier has turned into a kamikaze pilot, determined to destroy our Great Barrier Reef, even if it makes no economic sense,” she said.

The announcement comes just days after China and the US negotiated a deal to address climate change and move away from coal as an energy source. Obama himself expressed concern about the future of the Great Barrier Reef, and leading global banks such as Deutsche Bank and Citi have turned away from funding the new coal port at Abbot Point.

Premier Newman’s support of Adani’s Carmichael mega mine also appears to be out of joint with a recent announcement by Indian Power Minister, Piyush Goyal, detailing how India will stop foreign imports of thermal coal in the next three years, just as Adani’s mine is predicted to come online.

“It’s pure madness to be investing tax-payer money into coal infrastructure on the Great Barrier Reef when the world’s largest banks aren’t even willing to touch it.”

“Why isn’t Premier Newman protecting the 60,000 jobs that already exist on the Great Barrier Reef and investing money into clean solar and wind energy instead of tying us to the dying coal industry?”

The proposal would bring dredging in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area a step closer, as Adani’s Carmichael mine would require a new coal export terminal at Abbot Point, for which dredging must occur. Dredging in the World Heritage Area was cited by UNESCO as a reason it considers placing the Reef on its World Heritage ‘in danger’ list.

To add insult to injury, the Queensland Government plans to give our hard-earned dollars to a company notorious for flouting the law. Coal giant Adani has been investigated and fined in its home country of India for bribery, illegal shipments, environmental destruction and building on village land without permission,” said Shani Tager.

Video footage and photographs of the Carmichael mine site and Abbot Point terminal available here: www.greenpeacemedia.orgUsername: photos Password: green

For images or more information, contact:

Elsa Evers, Greenpeace Media Advisor, 0438 204 041

For interviews, contact Shani Tager, 0432 050 809

“Australians get longer to pay their parking tickets than they’re getting to comment on the fate of our Reef,” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter.

“Gladstone showed us the terrible damage that industrialisation can cause to the Reef coast. Given such high stakes, it is essential the process is not hurried or hidden from ordinary Australians.”

“Minister Hunt is clearly rushing this process but the question is why: who is pressuring Mr Hunt to rush this through?”

Mr Ritter has written to Minister Hunt urging the Minister to give these projects the highest level of scrutiny. “Given that the Queensland government is clearly desperate to start ripping up the seabed, Minister Hunt must not bow to pressure and must take his responsibilities as guardian of our Great Barrier Reef seriously.”

“Despite all of the concerns by UNESCO, scientists and the millions of Australians who love the Reef, it is absolutely outrageous that the environmental impacts of dredging and dumping will not be fully assessed by the Minister for the Environment,” Mr Ritter said.

“Ten days for public comment is entirely inadequate – especially in the festive season.” 

 “If Minister Hunt approves the coal port expansion on this current timeline, bulldozing and dredging could begin soon after Christmas.”

 Greenpeace’s submission to Environment Minister Greg Hunt on the revised dumping and dredging plans at Abbot Point is available here.

Dredging proposal open for comment here

Wetland dumping proposal open for comment here

For interviews or more information, contact: Elsa Evers, 0438 204 041

Photographs of the Caley Valley wetlands and Abbot Point available at: http://www.greenpeacemedia.org/main.php?g2_itemId=19146 Username: photos Password: green

Senior Climate Campaigner Nic Clyde said: “Greenpeace applauds the peaceful action taken today to protest against coal being exported from Australia’s newest coal mine, at a time when a carbon-free world was being discussed in Lima, with 50 countries agreeing to a total phase out of carbon emissions by 2050.

“With our politicians failing our climate and our community, it’s increasingly up to ordinary citizens to urgently and directly intervene.

“The rapid transition away from dirty energy to prevent dangerous climate change will not be achieved by opening new coal mines. The community understands this and is demonstrating a willingness to act.

“First coal from Maules Creek has been delayed by at least 18 months (1) and community protest has played a significant part in frustrating the project.

The Maules Creek project has experienced substantial delays as a result of legal and regulatory challenges to a proposal to mine in what the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet has described as “irreplaceable, ecologically unique” forest.

Over the last three years, 80 per cent of shareholder value (approximately $4 billion) has been lost as a result of  the structural decline of coal, renewed global action on climate change, and fierce community opposition to new coal mines (2).

“The doggedness of the coal company to drive the project, with the support of the NSW government, despite the economic and environmental realities,  is crazy,” Mr Clyde said.

The citizens arrested today join approximately 290 others arrested as part of the community campaign against the Maules Creek mine. Recent arrests include David Pocock, former Captain of the Wallabies and Professor Colin Butler, contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Contact: Alison Orme, Greenpeace Australia - 0432 332 104
Images available from 350.org

Notes

 The Queensland Government’s proposal would see millions of tonnes of seafloor dredged and dumped on the nearby Caley Valley wetlands to make way for a new coal port at Abbot Point.

“Environment Minister Greg Hunt is the guardian of our national treasure, the Great Barrier Reef. He must stand up to the coal industry and protect it for all Australians,” said Greenpeace Reef campaigner Shani Tager.

Several major US and European banks have walked away from funding expansion of the Abbot Point coal port and Indian coal company Adani is struggling to find the $16 billion required to build its coal mine, rail line and port.

The global coal price is at a five year low and the Australian Treasury is predicting the slump will continue through 2016[1]. There is real potential that even if Adani obtain finance and build their project, it will become a stranded asset.

“An approval by Minister Hunt now would greenlight dredging on the Reef and bulldozing of Caley Valley wetlands before Adani has produced a cent of the billions needed to make the project real,” said Ms Tager.

“To add insult to injury, Queensland taxpayers may have to foot the bill, paying millions towards dredging and construction of waste ponds on nearby wetlands for a coal port that may never be built.”

“This is a reckless waste of money that will unnecessarily trash our Reef.”

Queensland Government dredging proposal available here

Queensland Government wetland proposal available here

For interviews or more information, contact: Shani Tager, 0427 914 070

Photographs of the Caley Valley wetlands and Abbot Point available at: http://www.greenpeacemedia.org/main.php?g2_itemId=19146 Username: photos Password: green

“Premier Campbell Newman is offering a paycheck to a foreign company with a shocking track record to dredge up our Great Barrier Reef and build a dirty great coal mine,” said Greenpeace reef campaigner Shani Tager.

“Our premier has turned into a kamikaze pilot, determined to destroy our Great Barrier Reef, even if it makes no economic sense,” she said.

The announcement comes just days after China and the US negotiated a deal to address climate change and move away from coal as an energy source. Obama himself expressed concern about the future of the Great Barrier Reef, and leading global banks such as Deutsche Bank and Citi have turned away from funding the new coal port at Abbot Point.

Premier Newman’s support of Adani’s Carmichael mega mine also appears to be out of joint with a recent announcement by Indian Power Minister, Piyush Goyal, detailing how India will stop foreign imports of thermal coal in the next three years, just as Adani’s mine is predicted to come online.

“It’s pure madness to be investing tax-payer money into coal infrastructure on the Great Barrier Reef when the world’s largest banks aren’t even willing to touch it.”

“Why isn’t Premier Newman protecting the 60,000 jobs that already exist on the Great Barrier Reef and investing money into clean solar and wind energy instead of tying us to the dying coal industry?”

The proposal would bring dredging in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area a step closer, as Adani’s Carmichael mine would require a new coal export terminal at Abbot Point, for which dredging must occur. Dredging in the World Heritage Area was cited by UNESCO as a reason it considers placing the Reef on its World Heritage ‘in danger’ list.

To add insult to injury, the Queensland Government plans to give our hard-earned dollars to a company notorious for flouting the law. Coal giant Adani has been investigated and fined in its home country of India for bribery, illegal shipments, environmental destruction and building on village land without permission,” said Shani Tager.

Video footage and photographs of the Carmichael mine site and Abbot Point terminal available here: www.greenpeacemedia.orgUsername: photos Password: green

For images or more information, contact:

Elsa Evers, Greenpeace Media Advisor, 0438 204 041

For interviews, contact Shani Tager, 0432 050 809

​KLP described their decision as “the first step in an effort to purge our investments of coal … The next step now is to press companies to move in a more climate-friendly direction and reduce their carbon emissions. Companies with substantial coal-based operations which prove unwilling or unable to change, will run the risk of being excluded,” said Jeanett Bergan, Head of Responsible Investments at KLP. 

“KLP’s new investment rules send a clear message to coal companies around the world,” said Senior Climate Campaigner, Nic Clyde. “The age of coal is coming to an end. Smart investors won’t waste their money on the doomed coal industry because it’s clear the future is in clean, renewable energy.”

“KLP now excludes companies which derive 50 per cent or more of their revenues from coal-based business activities, instead investing NOK 500 million (approximately AUD $84M) in renewable energy. This will exclude some of the worst performers on the ASX, including Whitehaven Coal, Cockatoo Coal, Yancoal and New Hope Group.”

The decision is another blow for the Australian coal industry, already struggling with record low coal prices and new investment policies by Australian super funds that similarly exclude coal.

KLP joined a growing list of investors heeding the call of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said recently: “I have been urging companies like pension funds or insurance companies to reduce their investments in coal and a fossil-fuel based economy to move to renewable sources of energy.”

“Tony Abbott needs a long cold shower if he thinks the future is in coal. Norway’s biggest pension fund is dumping coal while Prime Minister Abbott is betting the house on it,” said Nic Clyde.

“We should be diversifying Australia’s economy and pumping money into new, clean industries. We need to increase the Renewable Energy Target and stop throwing good money after bad by subsidising the coal industry.”

KLP has already divested from controversial pure-play coal miner Whitehaven Coal (WHC).

“KLP’s new policy means they won’t ever buy back into Whitehaven Coal” said Mr Clyde. “This decision to exit is already looking pretty clever, given Whitehaven Coal shares are down 15% in the last month alone, down 22% in the last year and down 70% in the last five years.”

Peabody’s share price – down more than 80% over the last four years - mirrors ASX-listed pure-play coal companies like Whitehaven.


ENDS

For interviews or more information, contact: Greenpeace climate campaigner Nic Clyde, 0438 282 409.

See the full text of KLP’s press release here.

For a full list of organisations and religious institutions that have divested from coal, go to: http://gofossilfree.org/commitments/

“Labor has set itself apart by ruling out direct funding for the Indian coal tycoon Adani’s rail line, but needs to go further to make good on promises to protect the Reef and the jobs of 60,000 Queenslanders who work within the Reef tourism and science industries” said Greenpeace Reef campaigner Shani Tager.

Labor Environment spokesperson Jackie Trad announced the position last night  on the campaign trail, but failed to withdraw Labor support for LNP development plans at Abbot Point. Under the current plan, Queensland taxpayers’ money will be used to fund dredging of million of tonnes of seafloor in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area to expand Adani’s Abbot Point coal port.

“Labor’s announcement is a start, but the party needs to rule out using taxpayers money to dredge the Reef,” Tager said.

On the other side of the electoral race, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has promised hundreds of millions of dollars worth of tax-payer funding for the controversial Carmichael mega mine and rail line.

 “It’s pure madness to be investing tax-payer money into coal infrastructure on the Reef when the world’s largest banks aren’t even willing to touch it,” said Ms. Tager.

“Campbell Newman has cried poor while cutting funds from schools and hospitals, but somehow has a couple of hundred million spare to help a coal billionaire,” she said.

 “Queensland needs a bold leader that is willing to move away from the corrupting influence of the coal industry and invest taxpayers money in the growing renewable energy industry rather than wrecking the Reef,” said Ms. Tager.

Video footage and photographs of the Carmichael mine site and Abbot Point terminal available here: www.greenpeacemedia.org Username: photos Password: green

For images or more information, contact:

Elsa Evers, Greenpeace Media Advisor, 0438 204 041

For interviews, contact Shani Tager, 0432 050 809

Last night, a ReachTEL poll of Jeff Seeney’s seat of Callide commissioned by Greenpeace showed that over 70% of voters are concerned about the impact of coal ports and developments on the Great Barrier Reef. 

“The LNP have been treating concerns about the Great Barrier Reef as a leftie beat-up coming out of Brisbane, but this new poll shows that the LNP’s own heartland is deeply worried about the Reef and coal,” said Greenpeace Reef campaigner Shani Tager. “We’re talking about a conservative electorate – of overwhelmingly LNP and PUP voters – yet over 70% are concerned about the impact of coal ports and developments on the Reef.”

“Queenslanders know how lucky we are to have the Great Barrier Reef on our doorstep and we’re seeing concern from inner-city Brisbane to Taroom about the impacts of coal ports.” 

“Saving the Reef from coal is something that transcends party politics.”

 “It’s time for Jeff Seeney and the LNP to listen to their electorates’ concerns about the Great Barrier Reef, go back to the drawing board on their policies for the Reef and put an end to the reckless expansion of the Abbot Point coal port,” said Ms. Tager.

For images, interviews or more information, contact:Elsa Evers, 0438 204 041 or Shani Tager, 0432 050 809

The scandal, reported in the Sydney Morning Herald this morning, revealed inconsistencies between Indian and Australian financial reports. Adani’s Abbot Point T1 coal terminal and their rail and port expansion projects could in fact be controlled by a complex network of companies run through the Cayman Islands.

“Prior to the election, the Queensland Government was preparing to take a stake in these projects. Now it turns out they may not have known if these projects were owned by a publicly listed Indian company or a shadowy group of companies run through a tax haven,” said Ms Tager.

“It’s critical that these explosive revelations are investigated before any of Adani’s coal developments can proceed further,” said Greenpeace Reef Campaigner Shani Tager.

In Adani’s home country of India, the company has been fined for a raft of illegal activities, including paying cash bribes to port officials, customs, police and local politicians to receive “undue favour for illegal exports”.

Just last month Environmental Justice Australia released a report questioning Adani’s suitability to operate in Queensland given their track record.

“We already know Adani doesn't play by the rules. This is a coal billionaire who will do whatever it takes to make a quick buck,” said Ms Tager.

“The only sensible response to these revelations is a comprehensive investigation into the Adani Group’s suitability to operate in Queensland given the potential impact of their plans for a mega coal mine, rail line and port in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef,” Ms. Tager said.

“The public deserves to know who Adani really is, and why we are letting his dodgy companies anywhere near our Great Barrier Reef,” concluded Ms. Tager.

Video footage and photographs of Abbot Point terminal available here: www.greenpeacemedia.org Username: photos Password: green

For images or more information, contact:Elsa Evers 0438204041 or Shani Tager, 0432 050 809