People's blockade. World largest coal port. Newcastle, Australia. Green house gases. Climate change

Hundreds of Australians took part in a peaceful blockade of the world’s largest coal port, the port of Newcastle. Gathered in hundreds at the Horseshoe Beach the protesters were calling on the Federal Government to resist the lobbying of polluting industries for free pollution permits. “We would like to see a moratorium on new coal-fired power stations, mines and infrastructure combined with a plan for a just transition to a renewable energy economy.” said Rising Tide Spokesperson Carly Phillips. “Coal exports are Australia's single biggest driver of climate change, eclipsing all of the greenhouse pollution we make here at home. They are also our fastest growing contribution to climate change – with all of Australia's coal ports undergoing massive expansions. Rising Tide is a grass root organisation that campaigns for reducing greenhouse gas emissions which causes climate change of the planet. This was the fourth human blockade organised by Rising Tide at the Newcastle Port over a period of four years.

Coal remains a low cost energy source and it provides usable energy at a cost between USD 1 ~2 per MBtu (One million British Thermal Unit) compared to USD 6 ~12 per MBtu for oil and natural gas (3412 Btu = 1kWh). Coal prices are stable compared to oil. However, one of the most significant challenges in addressing global climate change is reducing greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the use of coal. Coal use, primarily for the generation of electricity, now accounts for roughly 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions posing severe threats to eco systems and communities. Coal plays a major role in meeting energy needs of the countries like the United States, and is likely to continue to do so in coming decades. 50 percent of the electricity generated in the United States is from coal. Rising energy demand will continue to drive up coal consumption, particularly in countries with large reserves such as the United States, China and India.

“If the Rudd Government was serious about reducing Australia's climate impact it would immediately put a stop to the expansion of the coal industry and put in place plans to phase it out and replace it with jobs in renewable energy. Coal is fuelling global climate change” added Ms Phillips. 250,000 tonnes of coal a day passes through the Newcastle port, which eventually turns out to be more than half a million tonnes of greenhouse pollution, when used to generate energy.

Australia exports approximately 60 percent of its annual coal production, making it the number one exporter of coal (29 percent of global coal exports) in the world. Japan is the destination for over 60 percent of Australia’s coal exports. Australian suppliers set prices for their coal exports directly with Japanese utilities. The annually negotiated price of these contracts has a large effect on Australia’s coal export earnings. According to Australian Coal Association, black coal remains Australia's largest export and the country exported AUSD 24.4 billion worth of coal in 2007-08. As of 2004, Australia contained 86.5 billion short tons (Bst) of recoverable coal reserves, the majority of which are concentrated along the country’s eastern seaboard in New South Wales and Queensland. These two states account for almost 97 percent of Australia's annual coal production. Australia has more than 100 privately owned coal mines located throughout the country. Around 60 of these mines are open pit operations, with the remainder being mined underground. Over the last decade, coal production in Australia has grown by 36 percent, with new projects continuing to come online every year. As a result of several consolidations in recent years, Australia’s coal industry is dominated by four mining giants : BHP Billiton, Anglo American (UK), Rio Tinto (Australia-UK), and Xstrata (Switzerland). Australia is the world’s fourth largest coal producer. In 2004, Australia produced 390.9 million short tons (Mmst).

As of 2004, Australia had 48.6 gigawatts (GW) of installed electric generating capacity and approximately 75 percent of electricity produced in Australia is from coal with around 55 percent coming from black coal according to the United States' Energy Administration statistics. Rising Tide in Newcastle who mobilised several support groups believes that It is morally culpable for the government to continue expanding the coal industry given its impacts on the global environment. Campaigners expressed their concern “The State and Federal governments need to prove to the people that if they are serious about dealing with climate change they must first deal with coal”.

This symbolic gesture of people's blockade which was well attended by the people of all ages showed the community's need to get away from Australia's coal dependency. Employment is another aspect the Federal Government will have to look into in making plans to phase out coal as a source of energy as around 30,000 are employed in black coal production. “In these uncertain economic times, it is more important than ever that the Government invest in clean and renewable jobs for the future: we can have power without coal, we can have jobs without coal, but we can’t have coal without climate change.” Rising Tide spokesperson stated.