Pacific nations under climate threat urge Australia to abandon coal within 12 years
Source: The Guardian
Pacific nations under climate threat urge Australia to abandon coal within 12 years
Frustrated leaders appeal to ‘all OECD countries’ to phase out use as Australia signals support for new plants
Ben Doherty in Katowice
Thu 13 Dec 2018 23.06 GMT
Pacific countries vulnerable to climate change have urged Australia to abandon coal power generation within 12 years, and to prohibit new coal plants or expansion of existing plants.
The call from 15 small Pacific island states came one day after the Australian government called for expressions of interest in new power generation projects, indicating it would be prepared to use taxpayer money to underwrite new coal plants.
Leaders warned Australia’s relations in the Pacific were being eroded by a perceived intransigence in Canberra over coalmining.
As the COP24 UN climate talks in Poland remained stalled over an unwillingness from major emitters to commit to further carbon emissions cuts, frustrated Pacific states, traditional allies of Australia, said the world must abandon coal-powered energy generation.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/14/pacific-nations-under-climate-threat-urge-australia-to-abandon-coal-within-12-years