Brisbane, 3 December : 350.org Australia has slammed the Federal Government’s decision to give conditional approval to $1bn in funding from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund (NAIF) for a rail corridor that would connect the coal port at Abbot Point with Adani’s proposed Carmichael coal mine as a catastrophe for the climate.
Adani’s proposed Carmichael coal mine would be the largest in Australia and one of the largest in the world. Construction of the mine would fly in the face of Australia’s commitment to limit global warming to two degrees, as promised under the Paris Agreement.
“This is an atrocious decision today by the Federal Government to provide taxpayer funding to an overseas company that wants to build a mega coal mine in Queensland at a time when no new coal mines can go ahead if we want a livable climate,” 350.org Queensland campaigner, Moira Williams said.
“Providing funding for a private railway line is a complete perversion of what the NAIF was set up to do and it demonstrates again that this government is more interested in pleasing their big mining mates than providing the infrastructure that regional Queensland and the climate needs.
“If we want a safe climate, this coal mine cannot go ahead. Climate change is killing the Great Barrier Reef, with a new survey out just last week showing that huge swathes of the Reef are now dead. If this mine goes ahead it will spell more heatwaves, more climate bleaching and the end of our Reef.
The 310km long, 100m wide rail corridor rail corridor is estimated to cost $2.2bn, meaning the conditional $1bn would cover almost half of the costs of the project. The rail link would also provide other prospective coal magnates with access to the Galilee Coal Basin. However, the project is yet to secure private funding.
“350.org Australia and the community will do everything we can to ensure that private investors considering this project know we will stop this coal mine. The climate cannot afford another coal mine, let alone the the largest coal mine in the country.”
The head of Adani, Gautam Adani, is set to arrive in Australia in the coming weeks and already community actions in opposition to the coal mine have sprung up in Melbourne, Townsville, and Brisbane.
“The community is speaking loud and clear. We need jobs that are clean, safe, and long term in the renewable energy sector. We don’t need more boom-bust jobs that will leave us in a heap, and spell catastrophe for our climate and Reef,” concluded Williams.
Media contact:
Cambell Klose 0490 436 948
Moira Williams 0450 944 114