{"id":598,"date":"2018-11-16T05:11:01","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T05:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=598"},"modified":"2018-11-16T05:11:01","modified_gmt":"2018-11-16T05:11:01","slug":"quit-coal-ending-australias-thermal-coal-exports-by-2030","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2018\/11\/16\/quit-coal-ending-australias-thermal-coal-exports-by-2030\/","title":{"rendered":"Quit Coal: Ending Australia\u2019s thermal coal exports by 2030"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greens Deputy Leader and climate and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP has outlined a significant new election policy on coal when addressing a conference of the United Firefighters Union in Hobart today.
\nHighlighting the link between worsening bushfires and climate change, Mr Bandt has detailed how the Greens would phase out thermal coal exports by 2030.
\nThe burning of coal is the biggest cause of global warming. Australia is the biggest coal exporter in the world and the second biggest exporter of thermal coal that is burnt in power stations to generate electricity.
\nThe world\u2019s scientists have said that the burning of coal must end by the middle of the century at the latest and that by 2030 at least two-thirds of the world\u2019s power stations must close.
\nIf we are to have any chance of halting and reversing global warming, most of Australia\u2019s coal must stay in the ground.
\nThe time has come for Australia to accept that the time of coal is over. Australia is moving to renewables and so is the rest of the world. There is no future in coal exports.
\nTo reflect the urgency and reality of a constrained carbon world, The Greens are announcing an election policy to phase out and eventually criminalise the burning and export of Australian thermal coal by 2030.
\nBased on laws to regulate asbestos, Greens Deputy Leader and climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP will introduce legislation to make it illegal under Commonwealth law to export thermal coal by January 1, 2030 with the exception of narrow exemptions for research and heritage purposes. Between now and 2030, quotas will be imposed on the export of coal so that the amount of coal exported reduces to zero by 2030.
\nThe policy builds on the existing Greens policy of no new coal mines which would prevent, for example, the proposed giant Adani mine.
\nBefore 2030 the auctioning of export permits by the Clean Energy Regulator will fund a Clean Energy Transition Fund to support the social and economic transition in coal communities in NSW and QLD.
\nQuotes attributable to Mr. Bandt:<\/strong>
\n\u201cWhen coal exports are added to Australia\u2019s domestic emissions, Australia is the sixth highest emitter in the world.\u201d
\n\u201cAustralia\u2019s coal exports produce over 1 billion tonnes of pollution a year, doubling our domestic emissions.
\n\u201cCoal is the next asbestos and it is time we regulated it as such. It is toxic and dangerous. We need to stop exporting coal.\u201d
\n\u201cAustralia could be a renewable energy superpower, exporting clean, cheap renewable energy instead of coal.\u201d
\n\u201cThe Greens\u2019 plan would see at Australia quit coal at home and abroad by 2030.\u201d
\n\u201cFunds raised from coal export permits during the phase-out period would be used to support Australia\u2019s coal communities during the transition.\u201d
\nBackground<\/strong>
\nExport<\/u>
\nIn the years up to 2030, a declining amount of coal will be permitted for export each year. After 2030, it will be an offence to export coal.
\nThe Commonwealth will issue tradable permits equal to the declining quota set out in legislation each year.
\nEach year, thermal coal exporters will be required to surrender permits equal to their annual coal exports. In the first year exporters will purchase permits from the Clean Energy Regulator at $1 a tonne equal to the previous year\u2019s exports of each company, in subsequent years permits will be auctioned by the authority and the price will be set by the market with a floor price of $1.
\nExport companies will either need to lower their exports, secure enough permits in the auction and\/or purchase from other companies that have a surplus. Over time the value of traded permits are expected to rise as the quota declines.
\nExisting mine licence and royalty obligations administered by states and territories\u2019 will continue.
\nThe Greens\u2019 plan for an orderly phase out will provide certainty to industry, providing ample opportunity to invest capital into developing the infrastructure and expertise to export clean energy.
\nThe Greens will establish a \u2018Clean Energy Transition Fund\u2019 to support the reskilling and redeployment of workers and the redirection of investment into the clean energy industry. Funds from the auction of tradable permits (up to $1 billion until 2030) will be allocated to the fund.
\nAustralia exported 203 million tonnes of thermal coal in 17-18, with a value of $22.6 B. 80% of Australia\u2019s thermal coal is exported.
\nDomestic<\/u>
\nThe bill prohibits building new coal mines or expanding existing mines immediately. It also makes it an offence to burn coal for power generation after 2030.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greens Deputy Leader and climate and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP has outlined a significant new election policy on coal when addressing a conference of the United Firefighters Union in Hobart today. Highlighting the link between worsening bushfires and climate change, Mr Bandt has detailed how the Greens would phase out thermal coal exports by … Continue reading “Quit Coal: Ending Australia\u2019s thermal coal exports by 2030”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}