As people worldwide are fighting for climate justice, the Australian company Mayur Resources is pushing to open Papua New Guinea (PNG) to coal - the world's dirtiest industry. If the company succeeds with its dirty coal agenda, PNG would be the first Pacific Island Country to develop a coal industry. We are campaigning to stop this development.
Mayur Resources Ltd is an ASX-listed company led by a former sidekick of Gina Rinehart, Paul Mulder, and has ties to former Rugby League star Darren Lockyer. The company plans to build a coal-fired power plant in Lae – PNG’s second largest city – and mine for coal in Gulf Province.
If approved, Mayur’s coal project could wreak havoc on local communities and cause irreversible environmental damage. It would also seriously harm the efforts of the communities across the Pacific that are leading the fight to save their homes and end climate injustice.
WHILE MAYUR CLAIMS THAT COAL POWER WILL BENEFIT PNG, OUR RESEARCH TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY:
Our 2020 report ‘The Coal Agenda’ published in collaboration with CELCOR and 350.org PNG found that:
RENEWABLES ARE A BETTER OPTION
The proposed coal-fired power station at Lae would not improve electricity access for the population of PNG – alternatives such as new hydropower, solar, and biomass will achieve this outcome in a cleaner, greener, and ultimately cheaper way.
MINING COMPANIES COULD BENEFIT
Any new extra electricity that the Lae power station would add to the Ramu grid would most likely be used to power new mining projects operated by foreign companies.
COMMUNITIES HAVE NOT BEEN PROPERLY CONSULTED
There has been a lack of community consultation, especially with the communities nearby the proposed power plant in Lae
THE POWER PLANT POSES A PUBLIC HEALTH RISK
The health impacts of putting a large coal-fired power plant so close to a major population centre such as Lae would be substantial
THE PROJECT WOULD UNDERMINE A JUST TRANSITION
A coal-fired power plant in Papua New Guinea would undermine Papua New Guinea’s national climate plan under the Paris Agreement, committing to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2030.
THE PEOPLE COULD PAY THE PRICE
The Mayur Resources’ claim that it can produce electricity at a significantly lower tariff than renewable alternatives is highly questionable, which raises real questions about the economic viability of the project and locking PNG into high power prices.
"The community needs to be involved in all processes of communication, in consultation and with any other activity that's associated with the company. They don't have our consent"
– COMMUNITY LEADER FROM A VILLAGE NEAR THE PROPOSED POWER PLANT
LATEST NEWS
Rebutting the claims made by Sam Basil about coal-fired power in PNG
Categories:
Climate Justice,
Nogat Coal
Release Date: 13 Aug 2021
Challenging extractive models of development at the 2021 Research for Development Impact Conference
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Release Date: 15 Sep 2021
Corporate Cane Toad Award 2021: Rio Tinto and Mayur Resources receive Australia’s most toxic award
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Nogat Coal
Release Date: 09 Jul 2021
New award names and shames the biggest corporate cane toads
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Nogat Coal
Release Date: 24 May 2021
Doesn’t Stack Up: Australian Energy Company Accused of Spruiking Unnecessary Coal Power Project in PNG
Categories:
Climate Justice,
Nogat Coal
Release Date: 22 Sep 2020