Eminent Australians urge Adani to discontinue coal mine project

The Dollar Business Bureau

A group of eminent Australians on Thursday requested India’s Adani Enterprises Ltd. to discontinue its mega coal mine project close to the Great Barrier Reef, warning the project could damage India-Australia ties.

The controversial $16 billion (Aus $21.7 billion) Carmichael mine is scheduled to commence construction this year after Australian and Queensland state governments permitted it to go ahead with the project. The project, however, still faces multiple legal challenges.

Australian businessman and environmentalist Geoffrey Cousins has reportedly written a letter to Adani chairman Gautam Adani, urging him to abandon this project.

Several prominent Australians including Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks, former Australian Test cricket captains Greg and Ian Chappell, Australian-based British comedian Ben Elton and rock group Midnight Oil have also signed against the project.

The letter has listed several environmental and health hazards such as risks to miners’ health and probable impact on the World Heritage-listed reef as a resultant of this project. “We urge you to think about global warming and public health and listen to the wishes of the people. We understand the Adani Group has not made a final investment decision on the Carmichael coal mine. We strongly urge you to decide to abandon this project,” the letter said.

“It would be a great shame if this one project were to damage the image of India in Australia”.

The project is estimated to produce 60 million tonnes of thermal coal in a year for exports to India. Adani’s Australia chief Jeyakumar Janakaraj in December insisted the proposed project will have a “net positive impact on climate change in the world”.

“India is a large consumer of coal either way. So if Australia doesn’t produce and give India high-quality, highly sustainable mining, it is going to rely on coal that will come from lesser reliable geographies,” he said.