Doctors for the Environment Australia has described Labor’s approval of three thermal coal mine expansions in NSW as negligent.

Says Dr Kate Wylie, a GP and the Executive Director of DEA, “Coal imposes a heavy health burden on all Australians.

“We know, as does the government, how harmful coal is to human and planetary health. To expand such a health hazard at this time is immoral and disregards community wellbeing.

“Burning coal emits toxic chemicals into our air, water and soils, affecting the health of miners, workers and nearby communities. And because particulate matter can travel long distances, coal mines can affect the health of people living hundreds of kilometres away.

“Coal causes a number of illnesses, particularly heart and lung diseases, stroke and cancers, contributes to hundreds of premature deaths a year, as well as asthma symptoms in thousands of children.

“Coal is the most carbon-intensive of the fossil fuels and is the largest contributor to worsening climate change which is driving extreme weather such as floods, storms, heat waves, and bushfires.

“By locking in the climate pollution that these mines will create, the government is putting the community’s health and wellbeing at risk.

“We must move away from polluting power sources to proven clean alternatives, like solar and wind, in combination with storage technology and energy efficiencies- these don’t cost our health or the health of the planet.”

The Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek yesterday gave the green light to Whitehaven Coal to extend its Narrabri mine until 2044; to Mach Energy to extend its Mount Pleasant mine until 2048; and to Yancoal to extend its Ravensworth mine until 2032.

Resources:
How Coal Harms Your Health Fact sheet
Fossil Fuels are a Health Hazard (report)

Media contact
Carmela Ferraro- 0410 703 074 / [email protected]

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