1 July, 2013
Conservationists welcome decision to terminate Cobbora coal supply contracts
The Nature Conservation Council of NSW today welcomed the state government’s decision to abandon plans for a state run coal mine at Cobbora in the state’s Central West.
“The decision to terminate the Cobbora coal supply contracts is economically and environmentally responsible,” said Pepe Clarke, NCC Chief Executive Officer.
“The Cobbora coal mine was a bad deal for the state and a bad deal for the environment.
”The coal supply agreements entered into by the previous government committed the state to massive liabilities, and would have undermined investment in clean energy by providing highly subsidised coal to polluting coal fired power stations.
“Treasurer Mike Baird has done the right thing by terminating these irresponsible supply contracts.
“However, we are concerned that the government has indicated that it will seek to sell or lease the site, and has not committed to withdrawing the mine proposal from the planning approval process.
“The impacts of this destructive mine proposal on the local environment, water resources and the climate are simply unacceptable.
“Given the poor quality of the coal resource at Cobbora, and the significant environmental impacts of the mine, we call on the NSW Government to withdraw its development proposal from the planning process,” he said.
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Coal and gas
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