Stopping the mining and burning of coal for energy will directly benefit nature.
Climate change is already one of the leading drivers of biodiversity loss and will only get worse unless we act now. A renewables-based global energy system compatible with limiting the average global temperature rise to 1.5ºC will reduce damage to biodiversity by around 70 per cent globally, saving up to 700,000 species from potential extinction.
NSW is uniquely positioned to reduce global emissions. We host the world's largest coal port in Newcastle, meaning ending coal exports would make a tangible and immediate difference to global emissions.
We are also uniquely positioned for the renewable future. Our abundance of wind and solar assets, alongside existing infrastructure means we can be a leader in the new, net zero manufacturing economy – but only if we don’t leave it too late.
The local impact on nature would be more immediate.
Coal mines and power plants leach toxic pollutants including mercury, sulfur dioxide pollution and nitrous oxides into our air, soil and water. This is having a devastating impact on our marine life, leading to regular fish kills and seagrass dieback. Stopping coal will give these ecosystems a chance to bounce back.
This would also see the coal ships that threaten whales as they migrate up and down the coast disappear - vessel strikes are the primary threats to whales worldwide.
Moving beyond coal would also see a marked improvement in human health.
In January 2021, Newcastle epidemiologist Dr Ben Ewald found that about 650 kids on the Central Coast had asthma because of nitrous oxide emissions from coal-fired power stations.
Analysis of the National Pollution Inventory data by Environmental Justice Australia this year has also shone a light on the profound and worsening health impacts of NSW coal plants as they age. See also, here.