Environmental Advocacy in Central Queensland held two events as part of the national call for the Federal Government to Rise Up and take real steps to tackle reducing emissions and protect our environment.
It was so great to see so many people attend our events and to sign on to our letter to Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek.
Have a read of our letter below!
Dear Minister
Re: Concerns about the significant environmental decline in Central Queensland
We write to ask that you please ‘Rise Up’ above the floods and fires and more actively work to protect our environment.
As you know, the Central Queensland region is the fastest growing coal region in the country and is now also being targeted for increased gas facilities. We are also facing increased renewable energy proposals.
The hypocrisy of the rhetoric that we are in a transition to renewable energy while still approving new fossil fuels is leaving us without any real direction on how to advocate for our environment and our communities. We need clear legislation and policy which puts our environment ahead of the expansion of an industry that is being phased out across the world.
In just the last year, our communities have experienced destructive fires, storms and floods. On top of this Great Barrier Reef is suffering “the most severe mass bleaching and mortality event ever recorded”, and the status of our threatened wildlife is going backwards. These climate change induced events are costing our environment and our economy. Coal and gas are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change and the associated impacts on our environment and our human rights.
Outside of the fossil fuel industries, our regional economy is mostly reliant on agriculture and tourism. As the farmers and tourism industry will attest, they are already being impacted by climate change impacts and the cost of living. At a household level, our tax dollars are being spent on recovery from climate-induced weather events, and our insurance costs have sky-rocketed.
We urge you to:
- Stop approving new and expanding coal mines
Proposed new or expanding coal mines that require assessment under our national environmental legislation generally come with significant impacts on water resources and/or threatened species and habitats.
You have promised to stop any further extinctions of threatened species and to do everything possible to protect the Great Barrier Reef. Approving new coal mines is contrary to your statements and is hypocritical when we are transitioning to a clean energy future.
There are sufficient approved and operating coal mines to meet all our domestic and international contracted needs for decades to come. New and expanding coal mines are only destroying further habitat, leaving scars on our environment and fuelling frequent and severe fires, floods and reef bleaching.
- Urgently progress the reform of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act
You promised to deliver environmental legislation reforms by the end of 2023, but it seems that you have just fragmented and delayed these urgent reforms. The current Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act is letting our environment down and desperately needs fixing before it is too late for our wildlife and their habitats.
We strongly believe that a climate trigger is needed in the new legislation. This would provide a key mechanism to be able to refuse projects that will contribute to increased emissions and the subsequent impacts on our communities and environment.
The need to protect our ecosystems has never been greater.
Please don’t be the environment Minister that pushes us over the tipping point.
EnvA - CQ 