Environmental groups call Adani investment "nod" for Aussie coalmine project cynical: "Private finance remains elusive"

By A Representative
An alliance of 20 key Australian environmental groups has dismissed the news that Adani’s Board have made a new ‘investment decision’ for the Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, Australia. “This so-called decision is a cynical exercise designed to attract a $1 billion loan from the Australian Government, with private finance continuing to remain elusive for Adani”, it said.
The Stop Adani Alliance, claiming to have the backing of over 1.5 million Australians, said, it “vows to keep fighting the mine.”
Alliance spokesperson and prominent businessman, Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) President Geoff Cousins AM, said, “This is groundhog day. Adani has announced an ‘investment decision’ multiple times over the six years since it acquired this project proposal but it still floundering around trying to secure the finance it needs to obtain ‘financial close’.”
Cousins AM contended, “Adani is yet to lure any financial institutions willing to bankroll the project, which is proving hugely unpopular with the Australian public. Without this support and public subsidies, the heavily leveraged balance sheet of Adani Enterprises leaves no internal capacity to fund this A$5bn project proposal.”
“If the Australian government hands Adani $1 billion loan of public money for this destructive mine that will destroy our Reef, we will consider all avenues, including legal action, to stop it”, he added.
Julien Vincent, Executive Director of environmental finance group, Market Forces, said, “Adani still faces an uphill slog to secure finance for what is an unviable project. 23 banks have either distanced themselves publicly from coal export projects in Australia’s Galilee Basin, or introduced policies that prohibit financing Adani’s mine.”
Vincent added, “Global shifts towards clean energy and India’s move away from coal makes Adani’s project a dud prospect. No wonder no one will touch it.”
Sam Regester, Environmental Justice Co-Director at GetUp said, “The company may be looking to turn some soil but Adani, and its cheer squad in the Australian and Queensland governments, are not prepared for the massive backlash from Australians who understand this project is fundamentally wrong. We won’t stop until we stop Adani.”
“Membership of the Stop Adani Alliance is blooming and Stop Adani local groups are popping up like mushrooms, with over 160 local groups around the nation. We’ve had 380 public events to date, including 200 screenings of the ‘Guarding the Galilee’ documentary with over 100 more booked in.”
Larissa Baldwin, National Co-Director of the Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network, said, “Neither the Queensland or Australian governments should allow Adani to ignore the rights of Indigenous people who’ve not consented to a mine which will destroy land and culture. The Government’s ‘Adani amendments’ to the Native Title Act are stalled in the Australian Senate because consultation with mob has been so shoddy. Putting mining rights before our land rights has got to stop.”
Maree Dibella, Co-ordinator of the North Queensland Conservation Council in Townsville said, “Just three weeks ago Adani announced it was suspending its final investment decision indefinitely in a move designed to force a royalty deal. Today they’re here in Townsville, cutting a ribbon to open their office, promising our community the world. How we can trust anything this company says?”
“The Queensland Government should be ashamed to stand by Adani today, having broken their promise of no backroom deals and no public funding for Adani by granting concessions in a secret royalty deal that may cost Queenslanders over $360 million”, Dibella added.

Comments

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Civil society flags widespread violations of land acquisition Act before Parliamentary panel

By Jag Jivan Civil society organisations and stakeholders from across India have presented stark evidence before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj , alleging systemic violations of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 , particularly in Scheduled Areas and tribal regions.

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Beneath the stone: Revisiting the New Jersey mandir controversy

By Rajiv Shah A recent report published in the British media outlet The Guardian , titled “Workers carved the largest modern Hindu temple in the west. Now, some have incurable lung disease,” took me back to my visits to the New Jersey mandir —first in 2022, when it was still under construction, though parts of it were open to visitors, and again in 2024, after its completion.

Protesters in UK cities voice concerns over alleged developments in Bastar region

By A Representative Demonstrations were held across several cities in the United Kingdom on March 28, as groups and activists gathered to protest what they described as state actions in India under the reported “Operation Kagar.”

Search This Blog