This is not rhetoric: approving the Adani coal mine will kill people

Rarely have politicians demonstrated better their ignorance of the risks and opportunities confronting Australia than with Barnaby Joyce, Matt Canavan and other ministers' recent utterances on Adani and Galilee Basin coal, along with their petulant foot-stamping over Westpac's decision to restrict funding to new coal projects. Likewise, Bill Shorten sees no problem in supporting Adani.

The Adani mine by itself will push global temperatures
 above the threshold increase of 2 degrees.

The media are no better; discussion instantly defaults to important but secondary issues, such as Adani's concessional government loan, the project's importance to the economy, creating jobs for north Queenslanders and so on.

Read Ian Dunlop’s story on The Canberra Times - “This is not rhetoric: approving the Adani coal mine will kill people.”

Vietnam ditches coal, commits to renewables

Vietnam just announced that it will be abandoning all future coal projects, and, instead, ramp up investments in renewable.

Coal is the dirtiest energy source. Those smoke plumes you’ve seen pouring out of factories are exactly what they look like: toxic to the environment.

Coal plants are responsible for 83% of CO2 emissions since 1990. 

Read the Global Citizen story - “Vietnam throws out coal plans, commits to renewables.”

Westpac promises much, but delivers little

Westpac’s commitment to help limit global warming to less than 2C does not mean it is going to stop investing in coal projects soon.

Australia’s oldest bank has agreed to judge lending proposals according to how they conform to the UN’s climate change target of restricting global temperatures, but will not rule out investment in individual sectors.

“It’s very hard to see how scientists could say one particular project could push us over two degrees,” Westpac’s chairman, Lindsay Maxsted, said at Friday’s annual general meeting in Sydney.

Read The Guardian story - “Westpac will not rule out investing in coal projects 'if they fit our criteria’.”

 

(Westpac’s pledge to limit global warming to less 2C sounds wonderful, but is hollow and as profit and growth, the mantra of all the world’s corporations, is unquestionably the sole determinate of any decisions it makes regarding future investments in the coal industry – Robert McLean).