Support for No New Coal Power campaign
Greenpeace Australia Pacific has written asking councils and other organizations, both private and public, to join together in signing an Open Letter to the NSW Parliament in
support of “No new coal power”. A copy of the Open Letter is attached.*
There is little doubt that climate change, accelerated by greenhouse gas emissions, is one of the most serious environmental threats facing our planet. Lake Macquarie City Council has made a firm commitment to taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change through a number of policies and Action Plans. The ‘Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Targets Policy 2008’ and the ‘State of the Environment Report 2009– Atmosphere’ specifically outline a goal for a transition for Council to move away from coal power to renewable energy. Moreover, contained within the latter under the heading ‘The Enhanced Greenhouse Effect – Future Directions’ lists the goal for Council to “catalyse the development of renewable energy generation in the city.”
The purpose of these polices, plans and reports is to assess our progress to date and further identify actions that Council can undertake in its own operations, and other ways to involve the wider community in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However our actions can only ever contribute in a small way to the reduction of greenhouse gases in the whole of NSW.For real change, there needs to be a positive approach taken to means of energy generation and energy efficiency, through the limitation of reliance on energy
from coal fired power stations, the promotion of investment in renewable energy
and the expansion of energy efficiency measures.
It is for this reason that I believe Council should support the campaign on No new
coal power and become a signatory to the open letter to NSW Parliament.
* Please note that at time of writing, the author has not determined whether Lake Macquarie City Council personally received a request and copy of this letter from Greenpeace as did other councils in or around April 2010. There are potentially many more signatories that have added their names since this time.
Motion:
I therefore move that -
Council becomes a signatory to the Open letter to the NSW Parliament in
support of “No new coal power”.
Attachment 1
An open letter to the NSW Parliament in support of
"No new coal power"
We are writing to express our serious concern about the proposal for new coal fired power stations in New South Wales and to urge you to prohibit the construction of new coal-fired power stations inthe State.
The two propose new power stations at Bayswater and Mt Piper, if powered by coal, would create over 22 Million tonnes of greenhouse pollution annually, and would increase the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by almost 15%. This is more than the emissions from the entire NSW transport sector. It would lock NSW into a fossil fuel future of increasing power bills and would undermine the potential for clean energy jobs in NSW.
NSW does not need new baseload power generation. A recent study by the Institute for Sustainable Futures shows that future energy demand can be more effectively met through a combination of energy efficiency improvements and distributed energy — with significantly lower greenhouse emissions and at significantly lower cost. We urge you to take action in parliament to prohibit new coal-fired power in NSW and to instead create a positive vision for the State's energy future through strong policy and investment inefficiency improvements and renewable energy.
Yours sincerely,
Linda Selvey, CEO, Greenpeace Australia Pacific
Greg Bourne, CEO, WWF-Australia
Denise Boyd, Campaigns Manager, Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF)
Cate Faehrmann, Executive Director, Nature Conservation Council NSW
Jeff Angel, Executive Director, Total Environment Centre
Holly Creenaune, Friends of the Earth Australia
Anna Rose, Director, Australian Youth Climate Coalition
Rex Graham, Uniting Church NSW
Simon Sheikh, Get Up
Blair Palese, CEO, 350.org Australia
Tom Mullaney, Climate Action Newtown
Lizette Salmon, Wodonga & Albury Towards Climate Health (WATCH)
Paul Hanly, Drummoyne Climate Action Group
Janet France, North Shore Climate Action
Tassia Kolesnikow , Sutherland Climate Action Network
Terry Mc Bride, 450ppm, West Ryde
Annie Nielsen, Parramatta Climate Action Network (ParraCAN)
Rising Tide Newcastle
Sydney University Climate Action Collective
Derek Bolton, Climate Change Balmain-Rozelle
John Kellett, Bathurst Community Climate Action Network' (BCCAN)
Thomas Ebersoll, President, Lithgow Environment Group
Tara Cameron, President, Blue Mountains Conservation Society
Cilia Kinross - Central West Environment Council
Jocelyn Hulme - Mudgee District Environment Group
North Sydney Council
Wyong Shire Council
About Me
- Phillipa Parsons
- I am a Greens councillor on Lake Macquarie City Council. I am also the Greens candidate for Swansea in this upcoming 2011 NSW state election. My biggest motivator is ensuring sustainability. This must be the key word in decision making at all levels of government. We need investment in renewable 'clean' energy sources and begin a just transition from dirty coal that pollutes the air, affects the health of entire communities and contributes to climate chaos globally. We need to ensure that we protect our communities from over-developments and protect public space. We need to ensure public education and health are top of the list of funding priorities. I appreciate feedback so don't hold back if you have something constructive to contribute! The biggest question we all need to ask ourselves is "what will you tell your grandchildren you did to address these issues?"