A group of climate activists in Australia staged a protest against the exports of coal by halting a train carrying the fossil fuel and were arrested for their actions on Sunday. The protesters, numbering at least 50, were taken into custody for bringing the train to a stop near Newcastle, a major coal export terminal in New South Wales.
They unloaded the coal from the wagons using shovels, and the train remained stationary for four hours. Security personnel attempted to control the crowd as the activists threw coal out of the wagon.
The action was carried out by the group Rising Tide, which is calling for the cancellation of all new coal projects due to coal being considered the dirtiest of all fossil fuels, and responsible for a majority of greenhouse gas emissions.
According to a statement from the group, twenty protesters climbed onto the train and unloaded the coal using shovels, while another thirty supported from the outside. Forty-seven activists were charged with ‘rail corridor offences’ and released after being issued court attendance notices. Two of the activists were charged with malicious damage and one with assaulting a security guard.
An image tweeted by Rising Tide showed protesters on and around the train.
The group tweeted that they had stopped coal from entering the world’s biggest coal port, and demanded that the ruling Australian Labor Party heed UN warnings and immediately cancel all new coal projects. Protesters were also seen chanting ‘No New Coal’. Newcastle is reportedly the world’s largest coal export terminal and the largest bulk shipping port on Australia’s east coast.
Although the Labor government in the country has pledged to cut the country’s carbon emissions by 43 per cent by 2030, Australia has not committed to ruling out any new fossil fuel projects amidst the climate crisis.
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