Newcastle councillor calling for citywide ban on fossil fuel ads

BY DAKOTA TAIT

Newcastle Council is set to discuss the possibility of a ban on fossil fuel advertising across the city at its meeting on Tuesday night.

Greens councillor John Mackenzie submitted the notice of motion, arguing it follows in the footsteps of bans on sponsorship from other activities such as gambling, alcohol, or weapons manufacturing.

He says people's attitudes are changing. 

"What we're seeing is local governments right across the country are undertaking this ban in exactly the same way that tobacco advertising was banned in the 80s and 90s," he said.

"We're recognising that the social and environmental and health consequences of supporting fossil fuels can no longer be tolerated. We're hearing the message from the community, and it starts with banning advertising which helps promote and advocates on behalf of these industries."

If successful, the motion would start with restrictions on fossil fuel advertising on council-owned and controlled signage and properties.

From there, Cr Mackenzie says Council could explore other opportunities and call on the State and Federal Governments to pursue a similar ban at a broader ban.

The ban would apply to all forms of advertising for the extraction and sale of coal, oil, or gas products.

It's unclear if the proposal to prohibit sponsorships would mean a stopper on funding from streams such as the Newcastle Port Community Contribution Fund or the State Government's Resources for Regions program.

"At this stage, what we want to do is make it very clear that the City of Newcastle won't be supporting that kind of advertising," Cr Mackenzie said.

"Then we can use that position to talk to the Port or to the Newcastle Knights and other companies and interests in the region, to see what opportunities there are for working together on reducing the role that fossil fuel advertising plays in our day-to-day lives."

Hunter's Coal Industry Soul-Searching After United Nations Climate Change Report

BY DAKOTA TAIT

The Hunter's coal industry has been forced to do some serious soul-searching this week, after the release of a United Nations report calling for the end of fossil fuel usage amidst a "code red for humanity".

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that billions of people would soon be at risk due to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and a prospective global temperature increase of 1.5 degrees by 2040.

Despite the findings, the Federal Government have maintained they will continue to support the fossil fuel sector to meet a rising coal demand in coming decades.

Shortland MP and Shadow Minister Assisting for Climate Change Pat Conroy says the report should be a "wake-up call". 

"It's very sober reading, it's depressing quite frankly," Mr Conroy said.

"But the good news is that the report makes it very clear that it's not too late for humans to arrest this global warming, and arrest and avoid the worst impacts of climate change."

"There is still hope, but it needs the world to take a concerted action to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions."

The Opposition has faced its own internal strife about climate change policy, with Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon playing down the country's contributions to global emissions, and Paterson MP Meryl Swanson calling for a measured approach to preserve local jobs.

But Mr Conroy says the lack of action isn't just bad for the environment, but a poor business decision too. 

"We're missing out on these huge economic opportunities of the new industries that are being created to help decarbonise the world," Mr Conroy said.

"We're missing out on electric vehicle manufacturing, battery manufacturing on a significant scale, and all the other industries."

"There's a huge economic opportunity if we take action on climate change, and a huge cost if we don't."