Africa
350.org Pacific and the Pacific Climate Warriors condemn the Australian Government’s decision to expand the Saraji coal mine, extending operations by 30 years and emitting a further 120 million tonnes of climate pollution. The extension was announced as Australian Prime Minister Albanese met with Pacific leaders who maintain that climate change is the “single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of Pacific people and communities.”
The open-cut Saraji coal mine, owned by the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), will dig and export a further 55 million tonnes of coal between now and 2055, solidifying Australia’s position as the major fossil fuel polluter of the Pacific region, and the largest coal exporter in the world.
Fenton Lutunatabua, 350.org Pacific and Caribbean Program Lead said:
“It is infuriating. We just learned that the world will breach the 1.5°C limit by the end of the decade, and Australia has again used their geopolitical power to claim that the Pacific does not object to their fossil fuel expansions. We absolutely do object. News of a global overshoot should have lit the fire of urgency to phase out fossil fuels, instead we are watching an extra 55 million tonnes of coal be extracted, exported, and burned at the cost of our survival.
“We will always maintain that the lives of everyday Pacific people should take priority over the profits of coal and gas CEOs. BMA already announced record profits for the last financial year. Are we willing to risk the survival of small island states to further line their pockets?”
At the Pacific Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau, leaders underscored the urgency of ambitious global climate action consistent with the best available science. UNEP’s latest report confirms any long-lived, high-emission infrastructure would lock us into a trajectory that makes future emissions reductions extremely difficult and denies us a chance at returning to the 1.5°C limit.
Jacynta Fa’amau, 350.org campaigner, said: “Earlier this year, I stood at the foot of the Saraji mine and listened to the plight of First Nations custodians whose lands, streams and cultural heritage were plundered to make way for BMA’s coal expansion. These coal mines wreak havoc on people and the planet, both at the point of extraction in Australia, and at the point of climate impact in the Pacific. Our frustration at this extension is as much for our Aboriginal and First Nations brothers and sisters, as it is for our own people.
BMA can absolutely afford to decarbonise their operations but insist on fuelling climate chaos with their coal expansion plans. That the Australian government is enabling them, while on the other hand claiming climate leadership at the Pacific Leaders Meeting, is baffling.”
The Saraji coal mine sits on Barada Barna/Wirdi traditional country and is one of 48 active coal mines in the Bowen Basin, in Central Queensland. BMA also has tentative plans to extend its Peak Downs mine in the Bowen Basin to the year 2119 – 70 years past the world’s net zero deadline.
A.I
Sept. 7, 2026
Tags: Pacific Climate Warriors