Campaign to Save Denniston Not Over

13 November 2013

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

"The world is turning its back on coal. And shareholders are getting out of Bathurst Resources," Mr Jones said. "The Norwegian Pension Fund, Norges, which holds just over $10 million in Bathurst shares, is divesting from coal. And our campaign with 350 Aotearoa, asking the Westpac Bank to stop backing Bathurst Resources, is growing fast. It's time for Westpac to follow the Norwegians."

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

"To stay below the agreed two degree limit of global warming and minimise the risk of runaway climate change, climate scientists have warned that most of the industry's coal reserves have to remain in the ground as unburnable carbon. They will be stranded assets on coal companies' books, worth nothing. Investors see the writing on the wall - Bathurst shares are not bankable in a climate change future," said Mr Jones.

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

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

Tim Jones
Spokesperson
Coal Action Network Aotearoa

ENDS

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