31 January 2020
Governments putting water at risk with gas plans, say farmers
Farmers across New South Wales are fearing essential water supplies will be at risk as the NSW and Federal governments announces a $2 billion deal which includes extracting gas from the state’s north west and removing the barriers to coal supply to the Mount Piper Power station.
Farmers for Climate Action deputy chair and Crookwell sheep farmer Charlie Prell said: “Support for coal and gas expansion puts at risk already threatened water supplies and hampers Australia’s ability to make the cuts we need to our greenhouse gas emissions – the key driver of climate change.
“For me, the biggest issue as climate change ramps up, is water. Not just the price of water, but the availability of water,” Mr Prell said. “Any gas, conventional or fracked, uses lots of water and contaminates water. That’s the biggest threat to farmers in north west NSW.
“We are now in the heart of summer, in the middle of a heatwave, and the availability of water is critical to survival, not just human survival but to farmers and the way they can manage their land and stock.
“Farmers are suffering from unbelievable low levels of water, now in January, as we move into February and March the availability of water is only going to get worse, so to use water to extract gas from the ground and pollute the water while you’re doing that – I just can’t comprehend it.
“Why are we looking to old and destructive technologies? Australia is missing an opportunity to take its place as a global energy superpower. We have practical solutions (including the technology to power the country with renewable energy), we just need the political will to implement them.”
Farmers for Climate Action is a movement of farmers, agricultural leaders and rural Australians working to ensure that farmers, who are on the frontlines of climate change, are part of its solution.
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