Cookies help us run our site more efficiently.

By clicking “Accept”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. View our Privacy Policy for more information or to customize your cookie preferences.

Accept Deny

GoGreenNation news

Greens promise to force government to spend 1% of budget on environment if they hold balance of power

News Feed
Wednesday, April 2, 2025

The Greens have promised to push the government to boost environment spending to $7.8bn – 1% of the federal budget – next financial year if they hold the balance of power after the election.The minor party made the pledge as Labor faced calls to explain its nature policy after Anthony Albanese promised he would establish a federal environment protection agency (EPA) if re-elected. The prime minister said it would not be the “same model” as one his government abandoned in this term of parliament after a backlash from Western Australia, but released no details.The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, said Labor had broken a promise to protect the environment and Peter Dutton “doesn’t even pretend to care”. Bandt said his party’s position was in line with expert calls for a large increase in spending on nature protection to prevent species going extinct and help halt a documented decline in environmental health across the country.Voting 101: The Australian election has been called, here’s what that means for you - videoThe Greens plan included $7.8bn funding in 2025-26 and an additional $17bn over the following three years. If delivered, the commitment would at least double government spending on nature, according to analysis by the Parliamentary Library.The party said the commitments should be paid for by increasing taxes on “big corporations and billionaires” – similarly to its other major platforms, such as adding dental to Medicare.Bandt said “far more public money is spent subsidising [nature] destruction than protection” and the Greens were “the only party with a comprehensive plan to address the biodiversity crisis”.“In a minority parliament, the Greens will keep Peter Dutton out and get Labor to act to protect and restore our precious natural environment,” he said.Australia has more than 2,200 native species and ecosystems listed as threatened with extinction. Scientists and conservationists have described it as a world leader in mammal extinction, and a global deforestation hotspot.Labor promised to revamp the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act – which has been widely criticised as failing business and the environment – and create an EPA in this term, but neither commitment was delivered.Last week it was accused of weakening nature laws after it joined with the Coalition to amend the EPBC Act to protect salmon farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour. The amendment was welcomed by the salmon industry, unions and the Tasmanian Liberal state government.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Afternoon Update: Election 2025Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key election campaign stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionAlbanese this week said a returned Labor government would consult the states and industry and conservation groups on new laws and a different EPA model. He said the final legislation would offer “certainty for industry … but also provides for sustainability”.The director of the Biodiversity Council, James Trezise, said the prime minister had not included any detail “beyond a loose commitment to further consultation”. He said the point of an independent EPA was “to deal with the influence of vested interests in decision making”, but that this seemed a “moot point” as vested interests “appear to have the ear of the PM, whether it’s around salmon farming in Tasmania or the design of a new environmental regulator”.Trezise said Labor should again back the recommendations of a review of the EPBC Act led by the former competition and consumer watchdog Graeme Samuel, particularly his call for the establishment of national environmental standards against which development proposals could be measured.Trezise said while Labor was yet to provide detail of what it would do, the Coalition had “so far presented no clear plan for the law reform or the environment, beyond slashing the public service in Canberra”.The Greens environmental policy wishlist includes reforming nature laws, banning native logging, spending $20bn on biodiversity restoration over the next decade and dedicating $5bn over four years to a new “protected areas fund”.

The minor party makes pledge as Labor faces calls to explain its nature policy and plans for a federal EPAElection 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignPolls tracker; election guide; full federal election coverageAnywhere but Canberra; interactive electorates guideListen to the first episode of our new narrative podcast series: GinaGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastThe Greens have promised to push the government to boost environment spending to $7.8bn – 1% of the federal budget – next financial year if they hold the balance of power after the election.The minor party made the pledge as Labor faced calls to explain its nature policy after Anthony Albanese promised he would establish a federal environment protection agency (EPA) if re-elected. The prime minister said it would not be the “same model” as one his government abandoned in this term of parliament after a backlash from Western Australia, but released no details.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...

The Greens have promised to push the government to boost environment spending to $7.8bn – 1% of the federal budget – next financial year if they hold the balance of power after the election.

The minor party made the pledge as Labor faced calls to explain its nature policy after Anthony Albanese promised he would establish a federal environment protection agency (EPA) if re-elected. The prime minister said it would not be the “same model” as one his government abandoned in this term of parliament after a backlash from Western Australia, but released no details.

The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, said Labor had broken a promise to protect the environment and Peter Dutton “doesn’t even pretend to care”. Bandt said his party’s position was in line with expert calls for a large increase in spending on nature protection to prevent species going extinct and help halt a documented decline in environmental health across the country.

Voting 101: The Australian election has been called, here’s what that means for you - video

The Greens plan included $7.8bn funding in 2025-26 and an additional $17bn over the following three years. If delivered, the commitment would at least double government spending on nature, according to analysis by the Parliamentary Library.

The party said the commitments should be paid for by increasing taxes on “big corporations and billionaires” – similarly to its other major platforms, such as adding dental to Medicare.

Bandt said “far more public money is spent subsidising [nature] destruction than protection” and the Greens were “the only party with a comprehensive plan to address the biodiversity crisis”.

“In a minority parliament, the Greens will keep Peter Dutton out and get Labor to act to protect and restore our precious natural environment,” he said.

Australia has more than 2,200 native species and ecosystems listed as threatened with extinction. Scientists and conservationists have described it as a world leader in mammal extinction, and a global deforestation hotspot.

Labor promised to revamp the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act – which has been widely criticised as failing business and the environment – and create an EPA in this term, but neither commitment was delivered.

Last week it was accused of weakening nature laws after it joined with the Coalition to amend the EPBC Act to protect salmon farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour. The amendment was welcomed by the salmon industry, unions and the Tasmanian Liberal state government.

skip past newsletter promotion

after newsletter promotion

Albanese this week said a returned Labor government would consult the states and industry and conservation groups on new laws and a different EPA model. He said the final legislation would offer “certainty for industry … but also provides for sustainability”.

The director of the Biodiversity Council, James Trezise, said the prime minister had not included any detail “beyond a loose commitment to further consultation”. He said the point of an independent EPA was “to deal with the influence of vested interests in decision making”, but that this seemed a “moot point” as vested interests “appear to have the ear of the PM, whether it’s around salmon farming in Tasmania or the design of a new environmental regulator”.

Trezise said Labor should again back the recommendations of a review of the EPBC Act led by the former competition and consumer watchdog Graeme Samuel, particularly his call for the establishment of national environmental standards against which development proposals could be measured.

Trezise said while Labor was yet to provide detail of what it would do, the Coalition had “so far presented no clear plan for the law reform or the environment, beyond slashing the public service in Canberra”.

The Greens environmental policy wishlist includes reforming nature laws, banning native logging, spending $20bn on biodiversity restoration over the next decade and dedicating $5bn over four years to a new “protected areas fund”.

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of

Related News

Australians want nature protected. These 3 environmental problems should be top of the next government’s to-do list

Three experts consider what’s required to protect and conserve Australia’s natural wonders, from fighting invaders to stopping habitat loss and saving species.

Christina ZdenekAustralia is a place of great natural beauty, home to many species found nowhere else on Earth. But it’s also particularly vulnerable to introduced animals, diseases and weeds. Habitat destruction, pollution and climate change make matters worse. To conserve what’s special, we need far greater care. Unfortunately, successive federal governments have failed to protect nature. Australia now has more than 2,000 threatened species and “ecological communities” – groups of native species that live together and interact. This threatened list is growing at an alarming rate. The Albanese government came to power in 2022 promising to reform the nation’s nature laws, following a scathing review of the laws. But it has failed to do so. If re-elected, Labor has vowed to complete its reforms and introduce a federal Environment Protection Agency, in some other form. The Coalition has not made such a commitment. Instead, it refers to “genuine conservation”, balancing the environment and the economy. They’ve also promised to cut “green tape” for industry. But scientific evidence suggests much more is required to protect Australia’s natural wonders. Fighting invaders Labor has made a welcome commitment of more than A$100 million to counter “highly pathogenic avian influenza”. This virulent strain of bird flu is likely to kill millions of native birds and other wildlife. The government also provided much-needed funding for a network of safe havens for threatened mammals. These safe-havens exclude cats, foxes and other invasive species. But much more needs to be done. Funding is urgently needed to eradicate red imported fire ants, before eradication becomes impossible. Other election commitments to look for include: increased biosecurity funding, to prevent new incursions long-term investment in eradicating major pests and weeds from key sites support for research into new tools to control invasive species such as feral cats, for which no broad-scale solution is currently possible no reversal or weakening of policies aimed at curbing invasive pests such as feral horses in national parks new laws to ensure threat abatement plans must be implemented adequate funds to manage invasive species across the expanded protected areas system to meet the key global commitment to nature conservation national coordination and leadership to stop the indiscriminate use of poisons that can spread through ecosystems and food-chains, killing non-target animals such as owls, quolls, Tasmanian devils, reptiles and frogs. Stopping land clearing and habitat destruction The states are largely responsible for controlling land clearing. But when land clearing affects “matters of national environmental significance” such as a nationally listed threatened species or ecological community, it becomes a federal matter. Such proposals are supposed to be referred to the federal environment minister for assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. But most habitat destruction is never referred. And if it is, it’s mostly deemed “not a controlled action”. That means no further consideration is required and the development can proceed. Only about 1.5% of the hundreds of thousands of hectares of land cleared in Australia every year is fully assessed under the EPBC Act. This means our threatened species and ecological communities are suffering a “death by a thousand cuts”. How do we fix this? A starting point is to introduce “national environmental standards” of the kind envisaged in the 2020 review of the EPBC Act by Professor Graeme Samuel. A strong Environment Protection Agency could ensure impacts on biodiversity are appropriately assessed and accounted for. Habitat destruction at Lee Point, Darwin. Martine Maron Protecting threatened species For Australia to turn around its extinction crisis, prospective elected representatives and governments must firmly commit to the following actions. Stronger environmental law and enforcement is essential for tackling biodiveristy decline and extinction. This should include what’s known as a “climate trigger”, which means any proposal likely to produce a significant amount of greenhouse gases would have to be assessed under the EPBC Act. This is necessary because climate change is among the greatest threats to biodiversity. But the federal environment minister is currently not legally bound to consider – or authorised to refuse – project proposals based on their greenhouse gas emissions. In an attempt to pass the EPBC reforms in the Senate last year, the Greens agreed to postpone their demand for a climate trigger. Key threats to species, including habitat destruction, invasive species, climate change, and pollution, must be prevented or reduced. Aligning government policies and priorities to ensure environmental goals aren’t undermined by economic and development interests is essential. A large increase in environmental spending – to at least 1% of the federal budget – is vital. It would ensure sufficient support for conservation progress and meeting legal requirements of the EPBC Act, including listing threatened species and designing and implementing recovery plans when required. Show nature the money! Neither major party has committed to substantial increases in environmental spending in line with what experts suggest is urgently needed. Without such increased investment Australia’s conservation record will almost certainly continue to deteriorate. The loss of nature hurts us all. For example, most invasive species not only affect biodiversity; they have major economic costs to productivity. Whoever forms Australia’s next government, we urge elected leaders to act on the wishes of 96% of surveyed Australians calling for more action to conserve nature. Read more: Protecting salmon farming at the expense of the environment – another step backwards for Australia’s nature laws Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action. Euan is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and the Australian Mammal Society, and President of the Australian Mammal Society.John Woinarski is a Professor at Charles Darwin University, a director of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, co-chair of the IUCN Australasian Marsupials and Monotremes Specialist group, a councillor with the Biodiversity Council, and a member of the science advisory committee of Zoos Victoria and Invertebrates Australia. He has received funding from the Australian government to contribute to the management of feral cats and foxes.Martine Maron has received funding from various sources including the Australian Research Council, the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, and the federal government's National Environmental Science Program, and has advised both state and federal government on conservation policy. She is a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, a director of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, a councillor with the Biodiversity Council, and leads the IUCN's thematic group on Impact Mitigation and Ecological Compensation under the Commission on Ecosystem Management.

Government
Nature
Climate

Why does Leonardo DiCaprio care so much about Australian wildlife?

The actor was an unlikely ally in this week’s fiery debate over an endangered fish – and is, an insider confirms, ‘very engaged’See all our Australian election 2025 coverageGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhen a fiery parliament debate erupted this week about Tasmania’s salmon industry, support for the endangered fish at the centre of the fight – the Maugean skate – came from an unlikely corner.Hours before the Albanese government’s controversial legislation to protect fish farming in the state’s Macquarie Harbour passed on Wednesday, global star Leonardo DiCaprio weighed in.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

When a fiery parliament debate erupted this week about Tasmania’s salmon industry, support for the endangered fish at the centre of the fight – the Maugean skate – came from an unlikely corner.Hours before the Albanese government’s controversial legislation to protect fish farming in the state’s Macquarie Harbour passed on Wednesday, global star Leonardo DiCaprio weighed in.“URGENT: This week the Australian government will decide the fate of Macquarie Harbour and has an opportunity to shut down destructive industrial non-native salmon farms, protecting the Maugean Skate,” he wrote in a post to his 60.4m Instagram followers.The shallow estuary off Tasmania’s coast was one of the most important places in the world, DiCaprio said, and “essential for the planet’s overall health and the persistence of biodiversity”.The actor regularly uses his platform to post about conservation concerns in many places around the world – and it’s not the first time he has highlighted the plight of Australia’s threatened species.Earlier this month, he warned clearing in Western Australia’s jarrah forests for bauxite mining, approved by the federal government, would affect species including the endangered woylie and the red-tailed black cockatoo.He has repeatedly raised awareness of threats to koalas, and last year, called on the Australian government to end native forest logging to protect the breeding habitat of the critically endangered swift parrot in Tasmania.He also drew attention to Guardian Australia reporting on land clearing in Queensland, writing in a post: “Australia has the highest rate of mammalian extinctions in the world … The only way to protect the hundreds of threatened Australian forest species is to end native forest logging.”But how involved is the actor and conservationist in the decision to post on these topics to his personal profile?More than people might expect, according to scientist Janice Chanson, the Australasian manager of Re:wild, the conservation organisation co-founded by DiCaprio.“He does 100% have the say on whether the post goes up,” Chanson said. “He is very engaged and he is very informed.”Re:wild, which works on conservation projects around the world, was founded in 2021 when Global Wildlife Conservation, a scientist-led environment organisation based in the United States, merged with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.DiCaprio sits on Re:wild’s board, whose membership includes Razan Al Mubarak, the current president of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). According to Chanson, DiCaprio “speaks to our CEO on a daily basis” and has attended many field trips.Re:wild has staff based in Australia, where it partners with other conservation organisations to support the creation of protected areas, land restoration and species recovery.The organisation regularly creates social media posts on local issues, which a US-based communications team passes on to DiCaprio “to choose if he wants to engage on that particular topic”, Chanson said.She said Re:wild’s Australian work focuses on two goals: ending native forest logging and helping Australia meet its commitment to zero new extinctions.“The Maugean skate is very much at the forefront of the zero extinction target,” she said.“Australia has made that commitment. We’re here to help Australia meet that commitment. Unfortunately what’s happening to the Maugean skate is flying in the face of that.”skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Breaking News AustraliaGet the most important news as it breaksPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionBaby skates on verge of extinction in Tasmania hatched by scientists – videoFor months, Re:wild had been working to have the skate’s Macquarie Harbour habitat declared a key biodiversity area, a global program that supports identification and conservation of the world’s most important places for species habitats.It had posts prepared for a potential announcement. Then on 20 March, news broke that the Labor government planned to rush through legislation to protect salmon farming in the harbour, which threatens the skate’s survival, in the final week of parliament.Chanson said Re:wild decided to bring its posts forward, publishing an urgent message on its own Instagram account, and the communications team asked DiCaprio if he would share it on his own page.“The urgency came when we stressed it’s in parliament right now,” she said. She only realised he had acted on the request “15 minutes after he had posted”.The federal government has faced criticism during this term for delays to promised environmental law reforms that a statutory review five years ago found were necessary in response to the failure by successive governments to protect Australia’s unique wildlife and habitats.During debate over the Tasmanian legislation, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young waved a dead salmon in the Senate, accusing the government of selling out its environmental credentials for “rotten, stinking extinction salmon” on the cusp of an election.Wrapped in plastic: Sarah Hanson-Young waves a dead salmon in Senate – videoThe passing of the bill drew condemnation from environment groups and prompted dismay from the Labor Environment Action Network.As the federal election was formally called on Friday, former Greens leader Bob Brown said the environment had become “the sleeper election issue, awakened by this week’s uproar in parliament”.“By ramming through protection for the polluting Atlantic salmon companies in Tasmania, both [Anthony] Albanese and [Peter] Dutton have catapulted the environment back into the headlines,” he said.

Government
Conservation
Forests

One of Canada’s biggest copper mines plans to expand. B.C. says it won’t need an environmental assessment

Xatśūll First Nation asked B.C. to order an environmental assessment of the Gibraltar mine’s expansion plans. The provincial government declined

Xatśūll First Nation asked B.C. to order an environmental assessment of the Gibraltar mine’s expansion plans. The provincial government declined

Government

Labor’s grassroots environmental group dismayed by rushed bill protecting salmon industry

The Labor Environment Action Network says it won’t ‘sugar coat’ its reaction after working ‘so hard’ on obtaining commitment for EPAGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor’s grassroots environment action network has told its members it does not support legislation that Anthony Albanese rushed through parliament this week to protect salmon farming in Tasmania, describing it as “frustrating and disappointing”.In an email on Thursday, the Labor Environment Action Network (Lean) said it would not “sugar coat” its reaction to a bill that was introduced to end a formal government reconsideration of whether an expansion of fish farming in Macquarie Harbour, on the state’s west coast, in 2012 was properly approved.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Labor’s grassroots environment action network has told its members it does not support legislation that Anthony Albanese rushed through parliament this week to protect salmon farming in Tasmania, describing it as “frustrating and disappointing”.In an email on Thursday, the Labor Environment Action Network (Lean) said it would not “sugar coat” its reaction to a bill that was introduced to end a formal government reconsideration of whether an expansion of fish farming in Macquarie Harbour, on the state’s west coast, in 2012 was properly approved.Albanese had promised the amendment to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act to protect salmon industry laws in the remote town of Strahan after internal warnings the issue was damaging Labor’s electoral chances in the Tasmanian seat of Braddon, a seat the Liberal party holds on an 8% margin.An environment department opinion released under freedom of information laws had suggested the reconsideration could lead to salmon farming having to stop in the harbour, while an environmental impact statement was prepared.Lean’s national campaign organiser, Louise Crawford, told the group’s members the passage of the bill with bipartisan support on Wednesday night was “not an outcome we support”.“It is one of those incredibly frustrating and disappointing moments as a Lean member,” she said in an email seen by Guardian Australia. “We have all worked so hard on getting the commitment for an EPA [Environment Protection Agency] and environment law reform for such a long time when no other party was talking about it nor interested in it.”The reconsideration of the Macquarie Harbour decision had been triggered in 2023 by a legal request from three environmentally focused organisations to the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek. The request highlighted concern about the impact of salmon farming on the endangered Maugean skate, an ancient ray-like fish species found only in Macquarie Harbour.A Maugean skate in Macquarie Harbour. The species is listed as endangered. Photograph: Jane RuckertThe new legislation prevents ministerial reconsideration requests in cases in which a federal environment assessment had not been required and the development had been operating for more than five years. It was welcomed by the Tasmanian Liberal government, the Australian Workers’ Union and the West Coast Council that covers Strahan and surrounding areas.The government has dismissed conservationists’ and environment lawyers’ concerns that this meant it could be broadly applied beyond salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour, arguing it was “a very specific amendment” to address a flaw in the EPBC Act and that “existing laws apply to everything else, including all new proposals for coal, gas, and land clearing”.Crawford said Lean believed it was a “tight set of criteria” that did not apply to most major projects, including coal and gas operations, or to most developments that involved significant land-clearing. But she said the advocacy group would have preferred a solution that allowed the salmon farming to continue while an assessment was carried out.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Breaking News AustraliaGet the most important news as it breaksPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotion“We do not think activities should be immune from reconsideration if evidence shows they need to be given a federal environmental assessment,” she said. “This underlines the importance of completing the full environmental reform process, and to having an independent regulator.”Crawford urged members to “dig deep” and resolve to help Labor craft improved laws and an EPA in the next term of parliament “despite what happened this week”. She asked them to campaign for a group of pro-nature Labor MPs who Lean has named “climate and environment champs” – including Ged Kearney, Kate Thwaites, Josh Burns, Jerome Laxale, Sally Sitou, Alicia Payne and Josh Wilson – so that the environment “has strong voices in caucus and the parliament”.She noted Albanese had committed to reforming environment laws and creating a federal EPA in the next term after shelving both commitments in this term. “This is Labor policy so should be delivered no question. We will continue to work to deliver this. It’s time. It’s more than past time,” she said.The Maugean skate has been listed as endangered since 2004. Concern about its plight escalated last year when a government scientific committee said numbers in the wild were “extremely low” and fish farming in the harbour was the main cause of a substantial reduction in dissolved oxygen levels – the main threat to the skate’s survival.The committee said salmon farms in the harbour should be scaled back and recommended the species be considered critically endangered.A separate report by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies last month said surveys suggested the skate population was likely to have recovered to 2014 levels after crashing last decade. It stressed the need for continued monitoring.The government announced $3m in the budget to expand a Maugean skate captive breeding program.

Government
Climate
Nature

Panama Reopens Talks About the Future of a Controversial Copper Mine, but Opposition Remains

More than a year after Panama’s Supreme Court halted operations at a huge copper mine because its government concession was deemed unconstitutional, there’s a fresh push with the new Panamanian president to restart the mine

DONOSO, Panama (AP) — More than a year after Panama’s Supreme Court halted operations at a huge copper mine because its government concession was deemed unconstitutional, the country's new administration is signaling a potential restart.Business groups are lobbying President José Raúl Mulino, who says he’ll start discussing the mine’s future with his team next week. The mine’s owner is conducting media tours and has said it will suspend arbitration, while the coalition of environmental and civic groups that snarled traffic for weeks in 2023 calling for the mine’s closure is preparing to hit the streets again.Mulino has already ordered that the mine’s power plant be restarted and that some $250 million worth of copper concentrate sitting at the mine be sold. And on Thursday, he appeared to signal where he was leaning.Noting the mine’s economic impact — it accounted for nearly 5% of Panama gross domestic product the last year it operated — Mulino said: “On what basis can I say, as president of the republic, ’good-bye, to the mine, there won’t be a mine because five people who don’t pay a payroll don’t want a mine?'”In March 2023, Panama’s Congress reached an agreement with Canadian mining company First Quantum, allowing its local subsidiary Panama Copper to continue operating the mine for at least 20 more years. The open-pit mine was temporarily closed in 2022 when talks between the government and First Quantum broke down over payments the government wanted.The contract, given final approval Oct. 20, 2023, allowed the subsidiary to continue operating the mine in a biodiverse jungle on the Atlantic coast west of the capital for the next 20 years, with the possibility of extending for a further 20 years if the site remained productive.The deal faced opposition from those who believed Panama wasn’t getting as much as it should and from environmentalists and Indigenous groups who raised concerns about the mine’s impact.The dispute led to some of Panama’s most widespread protests in recent years, including a blockade of the mine’s power plant. Protesters also blocked parts of the Pan American highway, including a stretch near the border with Costa Rica.On Nov. 28, 2023, Panama’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the 20-year concession was unconstitutional and then-President Laurentino Cortizo announced the start of a process to close the mine.Days before the court’s ruling, the Congress had also passed a moratorium on metal mining in Panama.The road to Cobre Panamá now is peppered with signs calling for its reopening. At its peak, it had employed more than 7,000 people, of which only about 1,000 remain as the company tries to keep the surrounding jungle at bay and the equipment from rusting away.Edgardo Díaz, who sold food to mine workers, said many vendors had to shutter their businesses when the mine stopped operating. He said he was one of five vendors who met with Mulino several weeks ago. “We asked that the mine be reopened.”But not everyone agrees. Abelisario Rodríguez, a resident of Río Caimito near the mine, said that despite the mine’s presence and the money it generated, his community still lacked basic services like electricity, drinking water, a health center and school.He said there had been a lot of promises made about the development the mine would bring, but he didn’t see it reflected in his community and he didn’t want to see it reopened.“We don’t want mines in Panama because we’ve seen the experiences of countries like Chile, Peru, mining countries, communities that have been razed, that have been contaminated with sick populations,” Rodríguez said. “We don’t want that for our future generations.”Manuel Aizpurua, head of Cobre Panamá, said they’ve started bringing people to the mine to show the condition of the equipment and the need to make a decision on the mine’s future.“Nature is attacking these installations and this equipment, taking them to a degree of deterioration where it won’t be possible to restart the mine if we don’t do something urgently,” Aizpurua said.“We understand that an operation like this must generate significant benefits for the country and the surrounding communities, not only for our shareholders and investors,” he said. “We’re prepared to sit down with the national government as soon as possible without preconditions to find a solution to achieve that objective.”Shortly after Mulino made his comments about the mine Thursday, the 40-organization coalition Panama is Worth More without Mining gathered in the capital.Lilian Gonzáles Guevara, executive director of the nongovernmental Environmental Incident Center, pushed back against the economic argument for reopening the mine. She said that while many countries had struggled economically recently, Panama had grown even without the mine operating last year.“We haven’t depended on mining, it’s a fallacy,” she said. The only dialogue the group was open to having was about permanently closing the mine.The coalition has called for a public vigil Sunday to remind authorities of the public’s opposition to the mine.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Feb. 2025

Government
Business
Health

Suggested Viewing

Sounding the Alarm ~ America's Climate Crisis

"It's really hard being a fire family. Every day it's getting worse." -Brett, wife of Marin County Battalion Chief in California.Every day, Americans who live close to the land and sea face the dangers of climate change—from a firefighter in California, to a beekeeper in Arizona, to a climate refugee losing her home in Florida. The changing climate affects our food systems, water and way of life. These American families are in the trenches sacrificing everything while facing depression, PTSD, and suicide—collateral damage of a crisis unchecked. Award-winning filmmaker, Peter Goetz, captures America's faces and voices, shot in 2020 leading up to the presidential election. Goetz and the Biden campaign made history, producing the first national climate spot to run during a presidential election. But this film dives deeper into the American climate crisis to explore the lives of the people who are sounding the alarm, worried about their grandchildren’s future, asking, "If not us, then who?" This is a story of the resilience, perseverance, and ingenuity of the American people. Ever hopeful, they collectively take on a common enemy. As the young, Navajo solar visionary Brett Issac insists, "We've got to turn this train around before it's too late."

Climate
Crisis
Government

The Fellowship of the Springs

Florida’s artesian springs are a natural wonder of the world. As unique as the geysers of Yellowstone and as mesmerizing as Vernal Falls in Yosemite, these blue jewels surrounding the north Florida landscape are considered a treasure by many who see them. The state contains the largest and highest concentration of fresh water springs on earth. But today, the future of Florida’s springs is uncertain. With flow levels declining and nitrate pollution on the rise, the springs today bear the scars of a profound struggle. Florida's own government continues to approve permits for large companies that want to pump water from the springs and their springsheds, for nominal permit fees that often cost less than a day pass to Disney World. The Fellowship of the Springs takes viewers behind the scenes of the fight to save Florida's springs, from the halls of the state capitol in Tallahassee to deep caves of Ichetucknee spring.

Water
Government
Business

Descended: The Fight for Harris Neck

The documentary film “Descended: The Fight for Harris Neck” explores an ongoing land battle in Harris Neck, Georgia. In 1942 the U.S. war department seized 2,687 acres of land from a self-reliant community of seventy-five African American families. Since 1962 the land has been a national wildlife refuge. The film seeks to answer the pivotal question: How has a community been shaped by its common goal to reclaim their land?

Social Justice
Government
Nature

THE SPRAYER

In the land occupied with the sprayers army, no one has the right to grow any kind of plants either in public or private. So many of the people and soldiers do not even know how a plant grows or looks like, until one day one of the soldiers finds a seed buried deep down in the dust and his curiosity is just the beginning of something extraordinary, something big, something revolutionary.

Plants
CO2
Animation

Lake Victoria: An Ecosystem in Turmoil

Decades of mismanagement, environmental changes and a burgeoning population have created tensions for the 40 million people living on the shores of the world's second largest freshwater lake, Lake Victoria. Desperate fishermen use illegal nets and overfish the East African lake's dwindling stocks, while many fishermen have had to turn to other forms of work - much of which has a detrimental impact on the health of the lake and its residents. Lake Victoria: An Ecosystem in Turmoil follows some of those trying to eek out a living on the lake: a Kenyan fisherman who illegally crosses the border into Uganda in the search for fish; a Ugandan who gave up fishing to become a palm oil farmer; and a Tanzanian gold miner using mercury with his bare hands to extract the precious mineral from unregulated mines on the lake's shores. But how well do they comprehend the pressure that they’re putting on the lake, and can the regional governments and communities take action before irreversible damage happens?

Land Use
Water
Government

Join us to forge
a sustainable future

Our team is always growing.
Become a partner, volunteer, sponsor, or intern today.
Let us know how you would like to get involved!

CONTACT US

sign up for our mailing list to stay informed on the latest films and environmental headlines.

Subscribers receive a free day pass for streaming Cinema Verde.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.