Australian Coal Exports A Better Choice Over High-Emission Alternatives: Deputy PM

The Australian government is undeterred by criticism by Pacific nations of its coal exports. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said in a wide-ranging interview on Television New Zealand, that “if we were not exporting, those exports would be replaced by other countries that were filling a market which was seeking coal, and those coal replacements would have greater emissions than the coal is providing. “Which is why these things might sound simple … but when you actually scratch beneath the surface, it may well end up with a country with an increased emissions contribution [from] the replacement product that those countries will be importing....