Green pressure: Two top European banks withdraw support to Adanis' $12 billion Australian coal project

In a major setback to Gujarat's powerful Adani group known to be close to Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi, Germany's largest bank, Deutsche Bank AG, has declared it will not finance the “controversial” coal port expansion in Australia near the Great Barrier Reef. The bank said, it was responding to calls from environmental groups and tourism operators. The move comes nearly a fortnight after Australia’s provincial Queensland government approved a proposal to build Australia’s biggest coal mine – Adani’s Carmichael mine in the Galilee Basin.
Meanwhile, an Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) report has warned investors it is too risky to invest in the project. Authored by Tim Buckley, director of Energy Finance Studies, Australasia, the report believes India cannot afford the price of imported coal: “India’s perilous economic and financial situation creates further uncertainty for companies relying on its ability and willingness to import coal, with its associated implications for inflation, current account deficits, economic instability and energy security”.
Pointing out that “imported coal would require double the current price of India’s wholesale electricity, which categorically discredits the nonsense argument that it might alleviate India’s energy poverty”, the report states, for “a new Greenfield power plant, imported coal would cost Rs5.40-5.70/kWh and rise 4% pa thereafter, whereas wind would cost Rs4.60/kWh and solar Rs5.50/kWh, with no inflation impact over time – making this a straight commercial decision for India to aggressively expand its investment in renewables” (click HERE to read report).
Following Deutsche Bank’s announcement, HSBC, Europe's biggest bank declared it was “extraordinarily unlikely” it would go near the project. HSBC's chief executive Stuart Gulliver said his bank had not received any proposals to finance the project and would need to consider it if one were made, but added it would appear to fall foul of its commitment to the Equator Principles - a framework adopted by banks to determine whether to lend on projects where there is environmental and social risk -- and UNESCO's position.
"If you look at what we set out in terms of the Equator Principles and if UNESCO's stance is as you say, I think it would be extraordinarily unlikely that we would go anywhere near it," he said when asked at HSBC's annual shareholder meeting. Australian environmental groups consider the two banks’ stand as “a win for those opposed to $26 billion worth of coal projects that plan to use the Abbot Point port.” Groups led by Greenpeace Australia fughting to protect the World Heritage-listed reef took their campaign to Europe, urging Deutsche Bank, Societe Generale and HSBC not to back the Queensland coal projects.
“They want to stop a government-approved expansion of Abbot Point that would involve dumping 3 million cubic metres of dredged soil about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the Great Barrier Reef, an issue that is also of concern for UNESCO's World Heritage committee”, an Australian media report said, adding, “Campaigners against the Abbot Point expansion failed to win support from Societe Generale.”
"As we have seen, there is currently no consensus between UNESCO and the Australian government regarding the expansion of Abbot Point in the vicinity of the Great Barrier Reef. Our policy requires such a consensus at the least," Deutsche Bank co-chief executive Juergen Fitschen was quoted as saying at the bank’s the annual meeting. "We therefore would not consider applications for the financing of an expansion any further." Deutsche Bank was targeted because it helped refinance the lease on Abbot Point.
Those defending the port project say that it needs support for exporting coal from massive new mines planned by Adani and GVK, which is working with Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart.” GVK’s spokesperson has been quoted as saying that the Deutsche Bank decision to withdraw “doesn't impact our proposed projects in any way." Ieven then, The Financial Times, one of the world’s most powerful business dailies, describes the bank’s decision as “symbolic.”
The green groups in Australia have long campaigned to stop a government-approved expansion of Abbot Point that would involve dumping 3 million cubic metres of dredged soil about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the Great Barrier Reef, an issue that is also of concern for UNESCO's World Heritage committee. The campaign has forced most investors out of the project. Adani is one of the last remaining investors standing for the port terminal, along with the GVK Group. Other investors have long abandoned their stakes, including mining giants Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Lend Lease and Anglo American.

Comments

Sattvik Food Festival: Shouldn't one question notion of purity, cultural exclusion in food choices?

Recently, I visited the Sattvik Food Festival, an annual event in Ahmedabad organized by Anil Gupta, professor emeritus at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A). I have known Prof. Gupta since 1993, when I sought an appointment to meet him a few months after joining The Times of India in Ahmedabad—one reason why I have always been interested in the activities he is involved in.

In lieu of tribute to Pritish Nandy, said to be instrumental in collapse of Reliance-controlled daily

It is widely reported that Pritish Nandy , journalist, author, animal activist, and politician, has passed away. While it is customary to pay tributes to a departing soul—and I, too, have joined those who have posted heartfelt condolences on social media—I cannot forget the way he treated me when he was editor of the Reliance-controlled Business and Political Observer (BPO), for which I had been working informally in Moscow.

Challenging patriarchy? Adopting maternal and marital surnames: Resistance continues

Anandiben Patel The other day, I was talking with a group of family friends. The discussion revolved around someone very close to me who had not changed her official name in documents, including her Aadhaar and passport, after her marriage. However, on social media and within her husband's family, she had adopted her husband's surname as a suffix to her own. I mentioned that there is a growing trend—though not yet widespread—where women prefer to retain their maiden names or add their maiden surnames alongside their husband's surname. Another emerging trend is where men choose to add their mother's name, or even their wife's name, to their own. This revelation surprised my family friends.

To be or not to be Sattvik: Different communities' differing notions of purity and fasting

This is a continuation of my last blog on Sattvik food. When talking about Sattvik, there is a tendency to overlook what it may mean to different sections of people around the world. First, let me redefine Sattvik: it means having a "serene, balanced, and harmonious mind or attitude." Derived from the Sanskrit word sattva, it variously means "pure, essence, nature, vital, energy, clean, conscious, strong, courage, true, honest, and wise." How do people achieve this so-called purity? Among Gujarati Hindus, especially those from the so-called upper castes who are vegetarians, one common way is fasting. On fasting days, such as agiyarash —the 11th day of the lunar cycle in the Vedic calendar—my close relatives fast but consume milk, fruit juices, mangoes, grapes, bananas, almonds, pistachios, and potato-based foods, including fried items. Another significant fasting period is adhik maas. During this time, many of my relatives "fast" by eating only a single me...

Shyam Benegal's Mathan a propaganda film that supported 'system'? No way

A few days ago, I watched Manthan, a Shyam Benegal movie released in 1976. If I remember correctly, the first time I saw this movie was with Safdar Hashmi, one of the rare young theater icons who was brutally murdered in January 1989. Back then, having completed an M.A. in English Literature from Delhi University in 1975, we would often move around together.

Barred premise allowed? 'Modi govt fails to seek release of fishermen languishing in Pak jails'

Are the Indian authorities or their Gujarat counterparts softening their stance toward NGOs that flag human rights concerns? I can't say for sure, as only recently the foreign funding license of one of the most prominent NGOs, Janvikas, headed by the well-known civil society leader Gagan Sethi, was canceled. This NGO has been working on livelihood issues for underprivileged sections of society for several decades.

Would Gujarat Governor, govt 'open up' their premises for NGOs? Activists apprehensive

Soon after I uploaded my blog about the Gujarat Governor possibly softening his stance on NGOs—evidenced by allowing a fisherfolk association to address the media at a venue controlled by the Raj Bhawan about India’s alleged failure to repatriate fishermen from Pakistani prisons—one of the media conference organizers called me. He expressed concern that my blog might harm their efforts to secure permission to hold meetings on state premises.

No to free thought? How Gujarat's private universities are cowing down their students

"Don't protest"—that's the message private universities across Gujarat seem to be conveying to their students. A senior professor told me that students at the university where he teaches are required to sign an undertaking promising not to engage in protests. "They simply sign the undertaking and hand it over to the university authorities," he said.

Beyond the Sattvik plate: Prof Anil Gupta's take on food, ethics, and sustainability

I was pleasantly surprised to receive a rather lengthy comment (I don't want to call it a rejoinder) on my blog post about the Sattvik Food Festival, held near the Sola Temple in Ahmedabad late last year. It came from no less a person than Anil Gupta, Professor Emeritus at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), under whose guidance this annual event was held.

Search This Blog