The government needs to consider how to stop new or expanded coal mines in New Zealand to keep climate warming to safe levels, Forest & Bird says. Moving away from coal mining will require clear signals from the government, Forest & Bird says. (file pic) Photo: Lakeview Image Library/ 123rf The environmental group hosted a virtual conference today, featuring Environment Minister David Parker and former prime minister Helen Clark. During his speech in the morning, the organisation's chief executive Kevin Hague announced the new petition. There are currently proposals for new opencast coal mines in Southland and on the West Coast. "The simple fact is we do not have the capacity to mine more coal and burn more coal if we're going to get to no more than 1.5 degrees of warming," Hague said.