“We’re here to tell the coal industry that Australian taxpayers have had enough of funding their dirty unsustainable projects. Coal bosses are drinking champagne and congratulating themselves tonight after another year of earning vast salaries, but it’s the Australian people who have to pay the price,” said Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner Nikola Casule.

As a who’s who of Australian mining gathered at the Sofitel in Sydney for the Prospect Mining Awards, Greenpeace activists staged a game show event in the venue, offering handfuls of mock hundred dollar bills to coal mining executives.

“Federal and state governments give the fossil fuel industry billions of dollars of hard-earned taxpayer money in subsidies and tax breaks every year. The money wasted on production subsidies for the coal mining industry each year could alone pay for an extra 30,000 nurses or 60 new primary schools or 12,000 GPs," said Mr Casule.

The Australian Government provides $1.8 billion in production subsidies to the coal mining industry every year.[1] According to the IMF, Australia provides fossil fuel subsidies equivalent to $1,712 per person per year, or around $40 billion a year. These subsidies contribute to the air pollution, global warming, health impacts and traffic congestion that are caused by dirty fossil fuels, as well as $5.5 billion as direct fossil fuel subsidy or foregone tax revenue. [2]

“The coal bosses say they are bringing prosperity, but in fact they are taking money from all Australian taxpayers, so they can keep the dying and dirty fossil fuels industries alive,” Dr Casule said. “We want our taxes to pay for schools, hospitals and public services, not environmental destruction.” 

[1] http://www.carbontracker.org/report/coal-subsidies/

[2] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2015/new070215a.htm

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia’s biggest bank and one of the largest listed companies on the ASX, affirmed its support for taking action to keep global warming below 2 degrees and unveiled new carbon disclosure reporting requirements.

“Commonwealth Bank’s recognition of the damage that fossil fuels are doing to the environment and of the need to take strong action against global warming is timely,” said Nikola Casule, Greenpeace Australia Pacific climate and energy campaigner.

“However, it is concerning that the bank’s carbon disclosure calculations do not include indirect emissions from the products of companies it invests in (‘Scope 3 emissions’). This means that the Commonwealth Bank has left the door open to investing in Australian coal mines without taking into account the emissions that coal creates when it’s exported and burnt overseas.

“The science is clear: to meet a two degree target, 90% of Australia’s known coal reserves have to stay in the ground. This includes all of the coal in Queensland’s Galilee Basin. The credibility of the Commonwealth Bank’s position hinges on whether it moves to end its involvement in financing destructive fossil fuel projects in Australia and overseas,” concluded Dr Casule.

The CBA announced on 5 August 2015, that it would not be involved in providing finance for Adani’s unviable Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, which threatens the Great Barrier Reef.

If built, Carmichael would be Australia’s largest coal mine and one of the biggest in the world. On the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef, its port expansion would require massive seafloor dredging, resulting in hundreds more coal ships through Reef waters. At 28,000 hectares, it would also produce 121 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions yearly at maximum production, driving climate change - the greatest threat to the Reef.

“We are not opposed to freeing up international trade, but we are concerned that without proper transparency, the TPP may lead to worse social and environmental outcomes.

“We are calling on the government to make public the text of the agreement, so we can properly assess its impact on Australia.

“From what little detail has been leaked, we are concerned over a provision allowing multinational corporations to challenge domestic regulations and court rulings before special tribunals.

“This could mean, for example, that if an Australian court decided that a mining project was environmentally hazardous and therefore should not be approved, a multinational backer could seek to overturn that decision in a special tribunal.

“The inclusion of so-called investor state dispute settlement clauses gives special legal rights to foreign investors, which could see our government being sued for, say, stopping the pollution of our rivers if these companies think it would undermine their profits.

“Transparency on this deal is long overdue, and until we can see this text, speculation about the benefits of the deal, and its possible problems, will continue.”

ENDS

Television presenter and former chef and food critic Matthew Evans, delivered the petition to Senators Nick Xenophon and Peter Whish-Wilson this morning, calling for more information about what type of fish they are eating and where it was caught or farmed.

“There are many concerns associated with fish and seafood catch, including whether it was sustainably caught, or if it came from a country that has a record of labour abuses,” said Nathaniel Pelle, Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

“Matthew Evans, a food industry veteran, knows exactly what consumers, restaurants and local fisheries want. His petition shows Australians don’t like being kept in the dark about what fish they’re eating and where it comes from.

“In August, the Coalition government voted down a bill by Senator Nick Xenophon on better seafood labelling that had cross-bench support, knowing that Australian consumers want more information about what they eat.

“The food industry lobby, led by the Restaurant and Caterer’s Association, has pressured the government against adopting a better labelling regime, and their efforts are holding Australia back from global best practice for seafood labelling,” said Mr. Pelle.

This petition follows a Label My Fish Alliance campaign demanding new Australian labelling laws like those in the EU, requiring labelling of what fish we're eating, its origin and how it was caught or farmed. Members back clearer labelling in fish shops, takeaways and restaurants to protect the environment, boost the Australian fishing industry and protect public health.

Earlier this a year a joint statement signed by 16 environment organisations and Australian seafood industry bodies called for use of the Australian Fish Names Standard to be mandated and country of origin labelling to be extended into food service.

Prominent individuals backing the campaign include actor Richard Roxburgh, Quay Chef Peter Gilmore, MoVida chef and owner Frank Camorra, the NY Times best-selling author of ‘I Quit Sugar’, Sarah Wilson, and numerous Australian fishing industry members.


ENDS

The parliamentary inquiry into the Register of Environmental Organisations, a tax deductibility scheme, could strip environment groups of their their ‘deductible gift recipient’ status, removing donors’ rights to deduct their donations from their tax.

“This inquiry was initiated by the Abbott Government as part of a campaign to silence the environmental movement by attacking its funding from thousands of ordinary Australians who donate to nature groups so we can give a voice to their concerns,” Mr. Ritter said today.

“We are pleased to have this opportunity to highlight the role that conservation groups play in protecting our natural environment, and to represent all Australians who want our beautiful natural heritage protected.

“This inquiry is an attack on people who want to protect places like the Great Barrier Reef from the rapid expansion of the coal industry,” he said.

Mr Ritter said the inquiry was initiated by the then Abbott Government to benefit the fossil fuel industry, which has lobbied for the charitable status of environmental groups to be revoked.

“We can see from submissions to the inquiry that the fossil fuel industry has been calling for an attack of this sort for some time to stop environment campaigns.

“It’s not environment groups who present a threat to the economy, it’s clearly the fossil fuel industry  because it is the leading contributor to global warming.

“In Queensland, drought has spread to a record 80 per cent of the state, the largest area ever officially recognised as being in drought.

“The Great Barrier Reef is under mortal threat from coral bleaching associated with global warming. The tourism industry that relies on the Reef is also under threat.

“It is clear the government has adopted the position of the fossil fuel industry, although it is in decline. Clearly the fossil fuel industry has too much power in Australia.

“We can see that coal mining is a sunset industry. It’s a bad investment for the future of the economy, for Australians and for the environment. Yet, the government persists in attacking those who stand up to this industry in the face of its unprecedented threat to our air, water and climate.

"Instead of an inquiry into environmental groups, we need an inquiry into the fossil fuel industry and the billions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies it receives each year,” said Mr. Ritter.

ENDS

“Greenpeace is deeply disappointed over reports that a senate inquiry has recommended changes to Australia’s key environmental legislation, which will seriously undermine community efforts to protect our natural heritage,” said Ms Dominique Rowe, Head of Campaigns for Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

“Australians love their natural environment and recognise it needs to be shielded from corporate greed and exploitation. We need the safeguard of legislative protection so the government doesn’t ram through projects that could be environmentally devastating,” she said.

In August, Attorney-General George Brandis announced an amendment to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) to remove the right of third party individuals or groups to challenge environmental approvals for large projects, such as new coal mines.

“Since the EPBC came into force in 2000, we have seen repeated attempts from the business sector to scrap or undermine it by describing it as bureaucratic ‘green tape’.

“It has been atrocious to see the government jump on this bandwagon, with Mr Brandis painting EPBC enforcement as green ‘lawfare’. His efforts to change the Act are surreal, given his role is to protect the public interest uphold the rule of law, not dismantle it.

“The unhealthy influence of vested interests and lobby groups on government policy is precisely why we need to continue our efforts to represent the concerns of ordinary Australians in court,” said Ms Rowe.

“We’re here to tell the coal industry that Australian taxpayers have had enough of funding their dirty unsustainable projects. Coal bosses are drinking champagne and congratulating themselves tonight after another year of earning vast salaries, but it’s the Australian people who have to pay the price,” said Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner Nikola Casule.

As a who’s who of Australian mining gathered at the Sofitel in Sydney for the Prospect Mining Awards, Greenpeace activists staged a game show event in the venue, offering handfuls of mock hundred dollar bills to coal mining executives.

“Federal and state governments give the fossil fuel industry billions of dollars of hard-earned taxpayer money in subsidies and tax breaks every year. The money wasted on production subsidies for the coal mining industry each year could alone pay for an extra 30,000 nurses or 60 new primary schools or 12,000 GPs," said Mr Casule.

The Australian Government provides $1.8 billion in production subsidies to the coal mining industry every year.[1] According to the IMF, Australia provides fossil fuel subsidies equivalent to $1,712 per person per year, or around $40 billion a year. These subsidies contribute to the air pollution, global warming, health impacts and traffic congestion that are caused by dirty fossil fuels, as well as $5.5 billion as direct fossil fuel subsidy or foregone tax revenue. [2]

“The coal bosses say they are bringing prosperity, but in fact they are taking money from all Australian taxpayers, so they can keep the dying and dirty fossil fuels industries alive,” Dr Casule said. “We want our taxes to pay for schools, hospitals and public services, not environmental destruction.” 

[1] http://www.carbontracker.org/report/coal-subsidies/

[2] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2015/new070215a.htm

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia’s biggest bank and one of the largest listed companies on the ASX, affirmed its support for taking action to keep global warming below 2 degrees and unveiled new carbon disclosure reporting requirements.

“Commonwealth Bank’s recognition of the damage that fossil fuels are doing to the environment and of the need to take strong action against global warming is timely,” said Nikola Casule, Greenpeace Australia Pacific climate and energy campaigner.

“However, it is concerning that the bank’s carbon disclosure calculations do not include indirect emissions from the products of companies it invests in (‘Scope 3 emissions’). This means that the Commonwealth Bank has left the door open to investing in Australian coal mines without taking into account the emissions that coal creates when it’s exported and burnt overseas.

“The science is clear: to meet a two degree target, 90% of Australia’s known coal reserves have to stay in the ground. This includes all of the coal in Queensland’s Galilee Basin. The credibility of the Commonwealth Bank’s position hinges on whether it moves to end its involvement in financing destructive fossil fuel projects in Australia and overseas,” concluded Dr Casule.

The CBA announced on 5 August 2015, that it would not be involved in providing finance for Adani’s unviable Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, which threatens the Great Barrier Reef.

If built, Carmichael would be Australia’s largest coal mine and one of the biggest in the world. On the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef, its port expansion would require massive seafloor dredging, resulting in hundreds more coal ships through Reef waters. At 28,000 hectares, it would also produce 121 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions yearly at maximum production, driving climate change - the greatest threat to the Reef.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific protesters today disrupted BHP Billiton’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) to demand justicefor the thousands of victims of the mining waste spill that destroyed the historic Brazilian town of Mariana in Minas Gerais state. The Germano iron mine, whose tailings (waste) dam failed on November 5th, is operated by Samarco - a joint venture co-owned by Australia-based BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, and Brazil-based Vale S.A, one of the world’s five largest mining companies.

Greenpeace and GetUp activists held banners reading “BHP: Mud and Profit” and “#justiceforMariana” before holding a media conference outside the AGM. Greenpeace Australia Pacific Climate campaigner, Dr. Nikola Casule, then attended the AGM and questioned the Board about the disaster.    

Nine people are confirmed dead and at least nineteen others are missing; an estimated 500 have been displaced. Enough waste – including toxic metals like arsenic -- spilled into the Doce River watershed to fill 25,000 Olympic swimming pools. Since November 5th, the waste has been slowly working its way downstream, contaminating the drinking water of hundreds of thousands of people and submerging protected forests and habitats. Experts predict that it will take the ecosystem decades to recover.

“BHP and Vale’s mining disaster are ruining the lives of thousands — fishermen, ranchers, city-dwellers and the Krenak Indigenous people,” said Ricardo Baitelo, climate and energy campaign leader for Greenpeace Brazil. “The tragedy will spread over 500 kilometers as the mining sludge makes its way towards the Atlantic coast.”

The Brazilian federal government neither required, nor did Samarco prepare, an adequate disaster response plan nor financial assurance to clean up a spill that experts predict will cost US$1 billion to clean up.

BHP and Vale were warned in 2013  that the Germano mine waste dams could failunder typical rainfall conditions. The expert study by Instituto Pristino was commissioned by the Minas Gerais prosecutor’s office.

“If BHP Billiton knew there were design flaws in the tailing dams, why did operations proceed?” asked Dr. Casule. “BHP and Vale must cover the full costs of clean-up and reclamation of the Rio Doce, which is the main hydrographic basin in Southeastern Brazil.”

The Samarco mine waste spill is the third catastrophic tailings dam failure in the last 15 months, following Mount Polley in Canada and Buenavista del Cobre in Mexico, both in 2014.  An independent review of the Mount Polley failure published in January 2015 found that the mining waste disposal technique used by Mount Polley (and also by the Germano mine), is inherently dangerous and should no longer be used.

In July 2015, a statistical analysis of catastrophic mine waste failures since 1910 by the US Center for Science in Public Participation determined that such failures are increasing in frequency and severity as a result of modern mining techniques, predicting 11 such catastrophes this decade that will cost US$6 billion.

“The Samarco mining waste catastrophe is just the latest in a tragic mining industry trend,” said Earthworks’ mining program director Payal Sampat. “How many people will have to die, how many rivers will be polluted, how many billions of dollars will we spend trying to recover from these disasters before regulators and investors demand that mining companies finally change their ways?”

“BHP must pay for a thorough and independent investigation of how this happened and pay proper compensation for this environmental crime,” said Dr. Casule. “The company must also take comprehensive action to ensure that all its facilities globally are safe, properly maintained and operated, so they do not pose a threat to the community and the environment."

For more information:

Images & Video of Germano spill: http://photo.greenpeace.org/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&ALID=27MZIFJ67ZKJW

Instituto Pristino report warning BHP and Vale of tailings dam failure risk:

Original in Portuguese: http://bit.ly/InstitutoPristinoReport-Portuguese

Rough English translation:http://bit.ly/PristinoReport-English

Independent Expert Engineering Investigation and Review - Mount Polley Tailings Storage Facility Breach: https://www.mountpolleyreviewpanel.ca

The Risk, Public Liability, and Economics of Tailings Storage Facility Failures:

http://bit.ly/CSP2-TailingsDamFailureAnalysis

Greenpeace blog - Dam collapse in Brazil destroys towns and turns river into muddy wasteland

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/Minas-gerais-mining-dam-collapse-mud-flood-rio-doce/blog/54787/

Television presenter and former chef and food critic Matthew Evans, delivered the petition to Senators Nick Xenophon and Peter Whish-Wilson this morning, calling for more information about what type of fish they are eating and where it was caught or farmed.

“There are many concerns associated with fish and seafood catch, including whether it was sustainably caught, or if it came from a country that has a record of labour abuses,” said Nathaniel Pelle, Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

“Matthew Evans, a food industry veteran, knows exactly what consumers, restaurants and local fisheries want. His petition shows Australians don’t like being kept in the dark about what fish they’re eating and where it comes from.

“In August, the Coalition government voted down a bill by Senator Nick Xenophon on better seafood labelling that had cross-bench support, knowing that Australian consumers want more information about what they eat.

“The food industry lobby, led by the Restaurant and Caterer’s Association, has pressured the government against adopting a better labelling regime, and their efforts are holding Australia back from global best practice for seafood labelling,” said Mr. Pelle.

This petition follows a Label My Fish Alliance campaign demanding new Australian labelling laws like those in the EU, requiring labelling of what fish we're eating, its origin and how it was caught or farmed. Members back clearer labelling in fish shops, takeaways and restaurants to protect the environment, boost the Australian fishing industry and protect public health.

Earlier this a year a joint statement signed by 16 environment organisations and Australian seafood industry bodies called for use of the Australian Fish Names Standard to be mandated and country of origin labelling to be extended into food service.

Prominent individuals backing the campaign include actor Richard Roxburgh, Quay Chef Peter Gilmore, MoVida chef and owner Frank Camorra, the NY Times best-selling author of ‘I Quit Sugar’, Sarah Wilson, and numerous Australian fishing industry members.


ENDS

Greenpeace’s investigation also found the waste still contains quantities of plutonium – highly toxic even in small quantities – despite reprocessing by French state-owned nuclear company, Areva.

“The Australian government is downplaying the danger of this shipment, saying it is intermediate-level waste that isn’t harmful unless mismanaged. But we know it contains plutonium and is classified as high-level waste by the French authorities,” said Emma Gibson, Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s Head of Programs.

“It’s clear on evidence the government is not being as straight as it can be about the nature of this shipment by insisting Australia only has intermediate-level waste. Australians have a right to know what is being stored in their backyard. The lack of transparency over this waste is highly problematic,” she said.

The nuclear waste was generated by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)  and sent to France in 2001 to be reprocessed.

The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) has revealed to Greenpeace that the waste has been classified as high-level (long-life) waste according to standards set by ANDRA, the French national radioactive waste management agency. High-level waste is ANDRA’s most severe nuclear waste classification.

Areva documents have also confirmed that the waste still contains low quantities of plutonium.

However ANSTO has classified the shipment as intermediate-level waste using an alternate classification system.

“The discrepancy is a significant concern as the French have much more experience of nuclear waste management than the Australians. We have written to Christopher Pyne, the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, asking him to clarify the exact nature of the waste,” said Ms Gibson.

She said the vessel carrying the waste - the BBC Shanghai - also has a worrying safety record and has been banned by a number of nations.

Official documents seen by Greenpeace show the BBC Shanghai has been detained by Australia, the United States and Spain in the past five years after failing safety inspections. The US has banned the ship from carrying government cargo, while 14 other nations have found deficiencies in the ship since 2002.

“The government is spending about $30 million to bring its nuclear waste back to Australia, but the management of this shipment has been a catalogue of mistakes and misinformation.

"American and Australian authorities have both detained this junkyard ship in the past two years after it failed inspections. While the US has banned it from carrying government cargo, the Australian government loaded it with tonnes of dangerous nuclear waste to transport around the world.

“The more you move radioactive waste around, the more you increase the likelihood of an accident which could spread radioactive contamination into the environment.

“The government is now saying Australia could be a nuclear waste dump for the rest of the world. Imagine the corners that could be cut when these dangerous shipments arrive regularly,” said Ms Gibson.

Endorsing Greenpeace’s report, Dr Helen Caldicott, veteran anti-nuclear advocate said:

“The fact France has classified this as high-level waste should send alarm bells ringing about what is actually coming back to Australia. The French have significantly more experience in handling nuclear waste than Australia does. That the two countries could have such different views on how dangerous this nuclear waste is should be a huge concern.

"There are enormously different safety regulations required for high-level nuclear waste compared with intermediate-level waste.

"Australia is conducting a dangerous radioactive exercise by transporting 10 tonnes of this high-level radioactive waste in a notoriously dangerous ship.”

The nuclear waste is due to be unloaded off the BBC Shanghai at Port Kembla in southern Sydney in the early hours of Sunday, 6 December. It will then be transported to Lucas Heights by road for interim storage.

Greenpeace's report about the returning nuclear waste and the BBC Shanghai can be seen here.

ENDS

The ReachTEL poll conducted on 26 November, 2015, asked 3,144 people if they supported Australia accepting nuclear waste from overseas. 72.1% of respondents opposed the idea, 9.6% were undecided and 18.3% supported it. The poll had a +/-1.9% margin of error and was commissioned by Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in October said Australia should “look closely”  at storing nuclear waste for other countries and the government has shortlisted six sites for a permanent nuclear waste dump.

Emma Gibson, the head of programs for Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said:

“Most Australians rightly don’t want their country to become a nuclear waste dump for the rest of the world. Nobody has yet has worked out a safe way to manage long-term nuclear waste, which can remain dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years.

“Creating a permanent nuclear waste facility doesn’t just mean digging a hole in the ground and putting the waste there. It takes years of consultations and planning because of the danger involved, as well as community opposition.

“It was only last month that Finland became the first country in the world to issue a construction license for a permanent underground nuclear waste repository, which will cost nearly one billion euros just to build. That speaks volumes.”

The BBC Shanghai ship will dock today at Port Kembla, NSW, with its cargo of radioactive nuclear waste that is returning from France.

Earlier this week, Greenpeace revealed the waste, which Australian authorities insist is ‘intermediate-level waste’, was classified as ‘high-level waste’ by French nuclear authorities. The French company responsible for reprocessing the waste says it still contains plutonium.

“Australia still doesn’t have a proper plan for its own nuclear waste, so I don’t know how the government plans to deal with the rest of the world’s nuclear waste too,” said Ms Gibson.

The waste will be transported by road to the Lucas Heights nuclear facility for storage on Saturday night.

ENDS

Proposals to reduce overfishing, protect sharks and ban transshipments at sea all reached a stalemate at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) in Bali, Indonesia. The meeting ended late yesterday.

“It is unbelievable that faced with scientific evidence on the alarming state of the Pacific’s remaining tuna stocks, the countries here have done nothing to help their conservation,” said Lagi Toribau, head of the Greenpeace delegation at the meeting.

“Leaving the fate of tuna, which coastal communities depend on, in the hands of the commission country members and the industry groups that accompany them is not good enough. It’s time to take this fight into other arenas,” he added.

Greenpeace is urging coastal states to take urgent action unilaterally and warned tuna traders and fishing companies they must take responsibility for the future of their own businesses.

The practice of transshipment involves smaller fishing boats transferring catches to a larger ship, allowing them to fish for longer periods without coming into port. The practice is linked to illegal and unsustainable fishing, as well as human rights abuses of the fishermen onboard the boats.

Since the WFPFC has failed to adopt new rules to ban transhipment at sea, it is now the responsibility of traders and retailers to ensure the tuna they sell has not been transshipped at sea.

“Failing to ban transshipments leaves supply chains vulnerable to illegal fishing and human rights abuses,” said Mr Toribau.

Earlier this year, the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior exposed how the inadequacy of existing shark rules and the impact of transshipments at sea allow illegal fishing to flourish. Following the bust of the Taiwanese longliner, Shuen De Ching No. 888, Nauru banned transshipments and other Pacific Island countries indicated they will follow suit. In October, the European Union issued Taiwan with a yellow card, putting them on notice to clean up their distant water fisheries or face trade sanctions.

“Australia’s support for the Pacific in Paris has been notional at best and selfish at worst,” said Matisse Walkden-Brown, the head of Pacific Net, Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s justice project.

“As we come down to the final days of the negotiations, Australia has been content to quietly sit by while nations such as the United States try to amend the final text to the severe disadvantage of Pacific and vulnerable states,” she said.

Crucial to protecting low-lying Pacific states is inclusion of a standalone article on the concept of loss and damage in the final text . This allows the term ‘loss and damage’ due to the climate crisis to be defined and internationally recognised. Without this text, injured nations, communities and families will be prevented from ever claiming compensation for climate-related events they cannot adapt to.

“On the issue of loss and damage, Australia is backing the United States and its attempt to make sure the text exempts them and other polluting nations from any future liability.

“Collectively, Pacific nations only contribute 0.03 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, but are already suffering real economic impacts from climate change. Basic human rights - access to food, water and shelter - are being breached across the region.

“The UN estimates that Pacific coastal communities along 77,000 kilometres of shoreline could be affected by coastal erosion and the loss of natural resources through climate change.

“As a close neighbour with economic, social and cultural ties to the Pacific, Australia has an obligation to ensure that the people who are losing their livelihoods, homes, and lands - even the graves of their ancestors - have the right to compensation in the future,” said Ms Walkden-Brown.

Ms Walkden-Brown also highlighted Australia’s poor financial assistance to Pacific nations at the talks.

“Despite its bluster, Australia has also failed with financial assistance for Pacific nations to adapt to climate change. It has announced AUD$1 billion in aid over five years - but this will mostly be taken from its foreign aid budget.

“The fate of Pacific island nations is closely bound to that of Australia’s. The Pacific’s story today is Australia’s story tomorrow. It is time for the government of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to look beyond short-sighted economic priorities at the Paris talks,” she said.


ENDS

“The Queensland government is at a cross-roads, and this latest policy announcement by another of Australia’s Big Four Banks to turn away from fossil fuel investments should be read as a clear warning sign,” said Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner, Shani Tager.

“Investing and financing major coal mines, coal-fired power stations, or their infrastructure would be inconsistent with Westpac’s new policy, and for Queensland that means not financing the Galilee Basin, the proposed Carmichael coal mine and the expansion of Abbot Point port,” said Ms Tager.

“Westpac’s policy puts them in line with other banks committing to a two degree Celsius warming limit, a position gaining traction with investors globally as the world moves away from fossil fuels. It’s a sensible decision,” said Ms Tager.  

Westpac’s announcement comes just weeks before the federal environment minister Greg Hunt is expected to give his approval for dredging within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area to expand the coal port at Abbot Point for the Carmichael mine.  

“Financial institutions are inching ahead of the Queensland government when it comes to protecting the environment,” said Ms Tager. “Greenpeace is calling on the Queensland mines minister, Anthony Lyneham, to cut up the approval for dredging at Abbot Point when it is handed down.”

“The Carmichael mine is financially unviable and environmentally destructive - that’s why no banks are willing to go near it. It makes no sense for the Queensland Government to dredge in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area to expand a port for a mine that should not be built.”  

Westpac today promised to adopt a policy of investment that would aim to keep average global temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius, the limit the United Nations has put as the maximum rise allowable to  avoid the most dangerous levels of climate change.

Greenpeace said Westpac’s fossil fuel policy was a step in the right direction and that they would keep a close watch on the projects that Westpac finances to ensure that the policy is properly implemented.

Carmichael would be Australia’s largest coal mine and one of the biggest in the world.  On the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef, its port expansion would require massive seafloor dredging, resulting in hundreds more coal ships through Reef waters. At 28,000 hectares, it would also produce 121 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions yearly at maximum production, driving climate change - the greatest threat to the Reef.

"Australia went into these talks with an embarrassing emissions target that came from the fossil fuel lobby and its influence on government energy policies.

"The thing most in our favour on the international stage was that Tony Abbott was no longer leading our country.

"It's time for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to shake off the climate policy hangover left by Tony Abbott and his band of climate deniers, and face a new day.

"Discussions at COP21 confirmed that investors globally are leery of being exposed to the financial risk now associated with fossil fuel assets.

"In Australia, we've seen the major banks backing away from fossil fuel investments. Yet the government continues with its increasingly desperate campaign to convince us that coal is good for humanity.

"Their dogged attempt to push through the massive Carmichael coal mine in the face of ever-sliding coal prices bucks global trends and sentiment about moving away from dirty fossil fuels.

"There was recognition in Paris that a global energy system based on renewables is the foundation for climate action going forward.

"We already have the technology to make a full transition to renewable energy in Australia, but much more political courage is needed to phase out fossil fuels and commit ourselves to a sunny future. Without this vision, Australians will be left behind in the global economy.

"The government must demonstrate its commitment to change with more policies to support development of the renewables industry, and set firm targets for the phase-in of renewables on a nationwide basis.

"Australia is now in a position to lead this shift, where it has been a laggard in other respects on climate change."

The ATO’s Tax Transparency report shows that 60 percent of foreign and 57 percent of Australian resources and energy firms did not pay tax over the 2013-2014 period. Energy and resources were the sectors with the highest level of non-payment.

Fossil fuel companies Exxon Mobil Australia, Chevron Australia, Peabody Australia, Glencore and Whitehaven are among those that paid no tax for 2013-14. Adani’s Abbot Point Terminal in Queensland - with a turnover of $268 million - also paid no tax.

“What we’re seeing is a series of tactics, such as companies writing off their losses, in order to avoid paying tax,” said Dominique Rowe, Head of Campaigns for Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

“The mining industry claims to be the backbone of the economy, yet taxpayers foot the bill for most of their business inputs. They are free riders of the first order, capitalising off a veil of secrecy around how they arrived at their results.

“With politicians telling us we need to pay for tax rises through a GST, and suffer cut backs to services - the solution is staring the Coalition government in the face.

“The fossil fuel industry makes a hobby of tax minimisation and bullying, and the government needs to stand up to this declining industry.

“Everyone knows the fossil fuel mining industry wields an unhealthy influence over Australian governments in general. It’s clear we need an independent inquiry into the relationship between the fossil fuel industry, its lobbyists and political parties,” she said.

ENDS

“The IEA’s report confirms that coal demand has stalled and free-falling prices are unlikely to ever recover. As an economy that’s heavily dependent on fossil fuels, Australia cannot keep ignoring these warnings. Continued dependence on coal mining is an economic timebomb for Australia as well as a carbon bomb for the global climate.

“Australia now has to start making plans for a future in which there will be no market for coal.

“The Paris talks were the first admission that the age of fossil fuels is coming to an end and this report is another nail in coal’s coffin.”

The recently-concluded United Nations climate talks in Paris agreed to limit global warming to between 1.5C and 2C. Despite this, Australia recently re-approved the $16bn massive Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, which will emit 120m tonnes of CO2 a year.

Ms Tager added:

“To help limit global warming to two degrees, 95% of Australian coal has to stay in the ground.

“Australia has to be among the first nations to reduce the amount of coal produced. Yet, the government’s approval for the Carmichael mine completely goes against the commitments made in Paris – and the long-term economic interests of the country.

“The IEA report has confirmed that coal’s market value has plummeted and is unlikely to ever recover. Australia must begin planning for a future beyond coal, instead of paving the way for the country’s largest coal mine.”