To NSW now, five teenagers who refused to leave a protest at Whitehaven Coal’s Newcastle office have been arrested.

As readers of the blog will know, today is the first day of COP27, the latest round of United Nations climate talks.

The stakes are high for young people whose futures are under threat from rising global temperatures and the increased risk of extreme weather events, crop failures, and rising sea levels.

Twenty-five protesters staged a sit-in at the Whitehaven Coal office, protesting against the company’s plans to double coal production.

When police arrived and officially asked people to leave, 20 of them complied. However, the protest organisers said a 16-year-old boy, two 17-year-old girls, a 19-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man remained, knowing they would likely be arrested.

A spokesperson for NSW Police confirmed officers were called to an office building on Newcommen Street, Newcastle because of reports of trespass.

Police said three juveniles and two adults refused to leave and were arrested at the scene, and taken to Newcastle Police Station where they were “assisting police with inquiries”.

While at the Whitehaven office, the protesters pinned a poster labelled “notice to cease and desist new coal mines and expansions” on the wall, and put through calls and text messages to the phones of company executives and board members, including chief executive Paul Flynn and board chair Mark Vaile.

The group is calling for Whitehaven to drop its three expansion projects – Vickery, Winchester South and Narrabri Stage 3 – and for the Albanese government to block all new coal projects.

A Whitehaven Coal spokesperson declined to comment, except to provide the sustainability chapter in its annual report.

One of the 19-year-olds arrested was joined at the protest by her parents, who said in a statement they were inspired by the way their daughter and many other young people had sounded the alarm about the climate emergency.

“[Her] decision to risk arrest was not taken lightly, but she realises that we need immediate and extensive action, and we support her 100 per cent,” they said.