Adding to the general crappiness across 2021 is another bit to help top it off. The first shipment of coal from Adani’s Carmichael mine in Queensland is ready for export.
Construction of Bravus Mining & Resources’1 Carmichael coal mine 160km northwest of Clermont started in June 2019 after all final approvals were received.
The mine will produce 10 million tonnes of coal per annum and the company is keen to ramp up to that as fast as possible.
Adani has previously stated:
“The process of mining 10 million tonnes of coal per annum at the Carmichael mine will produce 240,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.“
That’s just the bit where they pull the problematic rock from the ground. The process of transporting and burning those 10 million tonnes of coal produced annually will result in millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, and this could go on for decades. Whether it’s burned here or anywhere else doesn’t make a difference as we all share the same atmosphere.
Add to the carbon emissions are toxins including particulate matter2, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury and arsenic. Mining and burning coal has a massive negative impact on human health; not to mention that of the wider environment.
Adani’s celebration of this first load makes a mockery of Australia’s commitment to ‘phase down’ coal at the COP26 summit said the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF).
The amount of coal Adani/Bravus will mine each year is far less than what it originally intended. It has approvals for up to 60 million tonnes per annum. But in a world that really can’t afford to be burning any more of the stuff, it’s all bad news and helps reaffirm Australia’s status as a Typhoid Mary of fossil fuel emissions.
Adani “In Violation Of International Human Rights”
Many are still actively opposed to this mine for various reasons – not just environmental – and haven’t given up fighting it. Among them are the Wangan and Jagalingou people.
Adrian Burragubba, Nagana Yarrbayn Senior Elder and spokesperson for the Wangan and Jagalingou Cultural Custodian stated yesterday:
“Wangan and Jagalinagou people first said no to Adani’s mine in 2012, and we continue to say no. Adani has never had Free Prior and Informed Consent from the Wangan and Jagalingou people.”
Mr. Burragubba says without the approval from the Original Custodians, Adani is in violation of International Human Rights.
“We will continue to resist Adani’s coal mine, practice our culture, and assert our human rights as the First Nations people of this country.”
And more power to them for doing so.
But perhaps market and other forces may also bring the mine undone.
“No bank is prepared to fund the Carmichael mine, instead Adani’s parent company is coughing up the finance,” says ACF. “With the world turning its back on coal, the future of this mine remains uncertain.”
Unfortunately, the world isn’t quite ready to totally shun coal yet. Last week, Federal Minister for Resources and Water Keith Pitt3 was crowing about the December edition of the Resources and Energy Quarterly (REQ) indicating thermal coal export values are expected to rise from $16 billion in 2020–21 to $35 billion in 2021–22.
What Minister Pitt didn’t mention is a subsequent easing to $27 billion by 2022–23 is indicated.
But that’s still a lot of coal.
Footnotes
- The Adani Group re-branded its Australian business to Bravus Mining & Resources last year. A turd is still a turd by any other name, but the name change was supposedly to reflect the courage shown by the company in pursuing this project given the challenges (opposition) it faced. However, apparently the Latin word “bravus” could be more accurately translated as “crooked” or “mercenary”. Enough said. ↩
- Particulate matter can also impact on solar energy production ↩
- Minister Pitt is the only Minister we’re aware of to block SolarQuotes from his Twitter feed. We’re not sure why. ↩
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Correct me if I’m mistaken, but isn’t this mine supposed to offer a lot of jobs? Given all the unemployment at present that should help make it popular. And according to one newspaper article I skimmed on the subject, the jobs v environment debate is what returned the Coalition to power in 2019.
The point about banks refusing financing is alarming. Oh perhaps there was an actual economic case behind the refusal which justified it, but it’s the second story I’ve seen today about banks refusing financing to organisations they politically oppose. Banks aren’t supposed to be political! Should that occur then Left and Right will continue to disengage from one another – follow different news, bank with different institutions, support mutually exclusive cultural and ethic standards, live in different areas, vote differently, and effectively live in different countries. That way lies Balkanisation. : (
When environmental costs are included, investing in a coal mine is not the optimal use of resources. If business people have to pay the environmental costs of their actions then they will instead invest in the next best option.
George Kaplan,
“Correct me if I’m mistaken, but isn’t this mine supposed to offer a lot of jobs?”
At best, it’s short-term only. Per the PNAS paper titled Future of the human climate niche:
The northern third of mainland Australia could be unliveable by 2070. In other words, NO JOBS, no future, in the longer-term. See Figure 3 at: https://www.pnas.org/content/117/21/11350#F3
From a post at Verisk Maplecroft by Will Nichols and Rory Clisby on Dec 16, headlined 40% of oil and gas reserves threatened by climate change, it begins with:
https://www.maplecroft.com/insights/analysis/40-of-oil-and-gas-reserves-threatened-by-climate-change/
Ironic – fossil fuel industries threatened by escalating climate crisis.
I don’t think that this type of blog / topic should be on this website
Cheers
James M