Australia said Monday it will continue to sell coal for "decades" after rejecting a deal to phase out the polluting fossil fuel in order to limit climate change.

Forty countries have pledged to phase out coal in the coming decades, at the crucial COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.

Australia, like several major coal-consuming countries such as China and the United States, has not signed this commitment.

"We have made it very clear that we will not close our coal mines or our coal plants," Australian Resources Minister Keith Pitt told ABC channel.

Defending the Australian decision, Keith Pitt assured that his country has the best quality coal in the world.

“And that's why we will continue to have markets for decades to come.

And if they buy ... well, we sell ”.

The demand for coal must increase until 2030, assured the minister.

Droughts, forest fires and floods

“If we don't win this deal, someone else will win it,” he added. “I would much prefer it to be a high quality Australian product, which provides Australian jobs and builds the Australian economy, rather than (coal) from Indonesia, Russia or Australia. elsewhere". Australia, one of the world's largest producers of coal and natural gas, has seen extreme events - droughts, forest fires and floods - amplified by climate change in recent years.

Scott Morrison's government unveiled a 2050 carbon neutral goal last month, but the plan has been criticized for its lack of detail and the fact that it relies heavily on as yet unknown technological innovations.


The Minerals Council of Australia, which represents major mining groups like BHP and Rio Tinto, has estimated that the 2050 target is achievable with heavy investment in technology.

300,000 Australian jobs

According to Keith Pitt, nearly 300,000 Australian jobs rely on the coal sector. The Minerals Council of Australia, for its part, puts forward figures of 50,000 direct jobs and 120,000 indirect jobs. Large groups ensure that they are opting out of the most polluting fossil fuels. In this connection, BHP announced on Monday that it had sold its 80% stake in a metallurgical coal mine in the state of Queensland, in the east of the country, to Stanmore Resources, for a sum of at least 1.2 billion US dollars.

“As the world decarbonises, BHP is focusing more on producing the high-quality metallurgical coal, sought after by global steelmakers, to improve efficiency and reduce emissions,” said Edgar Basto, head of Australian mining at BHP, in a statement.

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