Grant Howard has been a coal miner since he left school in Wollongong 44 years ago. At the weekend he was arrested at a protest, trying to hasten the end of his industry.
He is also deeply concerned about climate change and wants coal miners to be at the heart of the energy transition. Otherwise, he fears, mines will close suddenly and workers will be left in the lurch.Howard is particularly concerned about exports of thermal coal, rather than coking coal used for steelmaking. Burning thermal coal for energy is one of the major sources of greenhouse emissions, and ending it is essential to global plans to reach net zero by 2050.
“I was just an ordinary Australian and I had some level of confidence that our politicians would generally do the right thing.” Howard said the community was disappointed that the Albanese government had not taken stronger action on climate change, and suggested it should start by banning new thermal coal mines. He added that the Coalition’s plan for nuclear energy was a “red herring” and would lead to more inaction.