True Zero Emissions Needed: Groups

Samantha Kuman, Advocacy Officer at the Centre for Environmental Law and Community Rights Inc., said: “Mayur’s plan to create Mayur Renewables to focus on solar, wind, hydro and geothermal power is an important step, but it also needs to reverse its decision to create a coal industry in PNG.

“The Australian company must move away from coal if PNG is to avoid the most disastrous effects of climate change.

“We are already facing severe droughts, floods and rising sea levels.

“Our country is developing hydropower, biomass and solar plants, but Mayur’s coal plans will undo much of this progress towards a cleaner and greener future.”

Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG Yabem District President, Rev Yasam Aiwara, outlined that in their recent letter to Mayur’s new directors, Charles Fear and Chris Indermaur, they urged the company to reconsider its plan to use coal to power its Central Cement and Limestone project in Papa Lea Lea.

“Instead, the company says it will initially aim for 30-50 percent of the CCL project’s electricity use to be generated by renewables, with the end goal being to make the project carbon neutral.

“This is not good enough; the project should produce no or low emissions to begin with,” stated Rev Aiwara.

“Electricity only makes up a fraction of the CCL energy usage with almost all of its emissions coming from the coal fired kilns Mayur proposes to build. These kilns were ignored in the review, which makes the whole exercise somewhat pointless.”

Campaigns Director at Jubilee Australia, Dina Hopstad Rui, said: “The Nogat Coal alliance was disappointed to find no mention of Mayur’s proposed coal fired power plant at Lae in its strategic review.

“The world is moving away from coal, and an Australian company should not push it onto PNG. People in Australia don't support coal in our own backyard ‒ 82 percent support a phase-out of coal fired power stations ‒ and we certainly don't want to push it on our neighbours.”

(Nogat Coal PNG picture)