Two female climate protesters shut down the world’s biggest coal port for days

According to Blockade Australia, the activists, named as Zianna and Hannah, climbed to the top of machinery and suspended themselves out of reach to law enforcement officials. The activists also livestreamed the event on the Blockade Australia Facebook page warning that the over reliance on fossil fuels was leading the world to 'a catastrophic ecological collapse'.

The Port of Newcastle located in New South Wales is the largest coal port in the world transporting about 150 million tones of coal worth over $19 billion every year. The port also handles more than 4,000 ship movements annually. The port has been exporting coal since 1799 and its coal plays an important role in the Asian seaborne coal market due to high calorific content.

Coal trains entering the Port of Newcastle have experienced disruptions for many days after sustained protests from climate activists that began on November 5. This had prompted NSW police to establish a special strike force to crack down on activists enacting such high-profile stunts.

The two activists were eventually arrested by the police. Zianna Faud appeared before a New South Wales magistrate and after pleading guilty, was given community service and a fine. Hannah Doole and others activists from the group remain in jail waiting for their court appearance.

The two activists issued a statement in Blockade Australia website.

The institutions and corporations of Australia are designed to work together to exploit natural and human resources. Climate collapse will be the last result of this system.

We are getting in the way of Australia, stopping the machine that has set our homes on fire and drained our rivers, that promises mass starvation and water wars. This is us responding to the climate crisis. This is humans trying to survive.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Jones said in a statement that the climate activists group have already disrupted $43.6 million in coal exports and told the Police to take strict action against protesters.

New South Wales Police Chief David Elliot termed the protests as “nothing short of economic vandalism”. He also highlighted that the protesters could face charges with sentences ranging from seven to as many as 25 years in prison. Despite the threats, activists are vowing to continue the protests for several weeks. More than a dozen protesters have already been arrested.

Australia is the number 2 exporter of coal in the world after Indonesia and wants to maintain its fossil fuel industry, a major source of wealth, economic security and jobs to its local population. Coal exports totaled $40bn last year and the sector directly employs more than 40,000 people while indirectly supporting another 120,000 jobs. It also has some of the world's highest quality coal suitable for power plants.

Australia, along with some other major coal users such as China and the United States, did not sign up the pledge to eliminate coal use within decades during the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow concluded recently. Australian Minister for Resources Keith Pitt said:

We have said very clearly we are not closing coal mines and we are not closing coal-fired power stations. And that is why we will continue to have markets for decades into the future. And if they're buying... well, we are selling.

If we aren't to win that market, somebody else will. I would much rather it be Australia's high-quality product, delivering Australian jobs and building Australia's economy than coming from Indonesia or Russia or elsewhere.

But Australia still maintains that it is committed to net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 by balancing the risk of climate change without damaging it's economy.