Protesters condemn Howard's 'coal pact'

Farida Iqbal, Sydney

On January 11, the first meeting of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate was held in Sydney, attended by government and business representatives from six of the world's biggest coal-exporting nations.

Outside the meeting, several hundred people joined a protest organised by the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, Greenpeace and the Stop the War Coalition.

According to a government media release, the meeting heralded a "ground-breaking new model for international climate change and energy collaboration", but environmentalists condemned the meeting as nothing more than a "coal pact" and the protesters buried an enormous model of PM John Howard's head in a pile of coal.

The activists again called on the Australian government to ratify the United Nation's Kyoto protocol on greenhouse gas emissions. "The Howard government claims that the pact will lead to greater cuts in greenhouse pollution than Kyoto, but it cannot justify these claims as the pact is completely lacking any mechanisms to achieve anything", a Greenpeace media release declared.

Greenpeace argues: "Unless and until it imposes binding rules and focuses on truly clean technologies, the 'Coal Pact' is nothing but a public relations strategy to disguise the fact that our governments are placing the interests of the coal and aluminium industries over the interests of the Australian community, other industries like tourism and agriculture, and the global environment."

The "coal pact" protest followed a 3000-strong Walk Against Warming rally on December 3. Out of these two actions, a new campaign coalition, Climate Action Now, has been formed. For more information about CAN, contact Melinda Cook on (02) 9279 2522 or <mcook@nccnsw.org.au>.

From Green Left Weekly, January 25, 2006.

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From GLW issue 653