Climate activists continue efforts as Adani prepares to ship first coal cargo seven years behind schedule

By EVA BAXTER

The Adani coal mine is set on exporting its first coal before the year is over. Having already blown Adani’s schedule out by seven years, climate activists continue their efforts to stop Adani.

Frontline Action on Coal (FLAC), a movement aiming to end fossil fuel extraction through community-led, non-violent action, has reported climate activists are locking themselves to the tracks of the rail lines along the coal train’s path, and climbing onto the train to shovel coal “back to the earth where it should have stayed.”

“Adani’s Carmichael mine is a disaster for our planet and a moral failure. Anytime the mine is mentioned it should be remembered that this mine was built in full knowledge of its catastrophic climate impacts,” FLAC said on social media.

“That’s why every time Adani has tried to ship coal out of the mine, we have been there to stop it.”

The Guardian reported Adani’s initial plans were to dig 60m tonnes of coal a year from the Galilee basin, which has an estimated 23 billion tonnes of coal, and after an almost eight year delay, the company says it has downscaled the project to 10m tonnes.

Adani was one of nine projects targeting the basin in 2012, and Greenpeace at the time estimated that if all the mines went ahead, about 700m tonnes of CO2 would be released into the atmosphere.

Only the Adani project dug coal from the Galilee basin.

Activist/excavator

Climate activist Kyle Magee spent 20 hours shovelling coal out of a loaded train from Adani’s Carmichael mine earlier this month.

Kyle was arrested and initially denied bail by police and in Bowen Magistrates Court where the magistrate was not convinced Kyle would not reoffend before his court date.

A fund by Kyle’s supporters raised $23,715 to appeal the magistrate’s decision and allow Magee to spend Christmas with his daughters.

“Escalating climate change is such a threat to life on earth that even the prospect of missing Christmas through the misapplication of bail law, and disappointing my daughters who I love so much, didn’t seem like a good enough reason not to act,” said Kyle.

After six days imprisoned, he was released on bail on December 22^nd following a judgement in the Queensland Supreme Court.

Six environmental activists last month stopped a trainload of coal from Adani’s Carmichael mine and climbed machinery at Abbot Point Coal terminal.

All six pleaded guilty, two had their matter adjourned for sentencing considerations and four were sentenced with penalties ranging from an 18-month good behaviour bond to fines of $800 – $2000.

FLAC spokesperson Andy Paine said “civil disobedience has a long and proud history in changing society for the better.

“Anyone who has studied history will know that legality and morality are not always the same thing, and that it requires people of conscience and courage to break unjust laws in order for our society to evolve.

“The climate crisis is a great moral challenge of our time, and those who knowingly destroy our planet are still enabled and protected by the law to do so.

“It is likely those who break laws for the sake of our climate will be justified by history just like so many other causes have been before.”

Coal foul

The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) released a statement last week calling for harsher sentences for climate activists stopping trains from hauling coal to port.

QRC Chief executive Ian Macfarlane said less coal for export means less royalty revenue for the state budget to fund health, education and other essential government services.

“Right now, Queensland needs all the revenue it can get to deal with the ongoing, economic impact of COVID-19, which is unfortunately a long way from being over,” he said.

“People who choose to lock themselves onto rail lines and port equipment and climb onto coal wagons are not harmless, and their actions come at a huge cost to individual companies and to Queensland.”

Macfarlane said dealing with threats and abuse by protesters on a regular basis was taking a toll on the health and wellbeing of affected resources’ employees.

“In some cases, female employees have been subjected to disgraceful sexual slurs, which have no place in any workplace under any circumstances.”

Macfarlane said the law allows for protesters found to have acted illegally to be jailed or fined up to $7,000.

FLAC responded by pointing out the QRC statement comes just weeks after a report detailing how fossil fuel corporations are avoiding paying tax despite massive profits.

“If mining corporations were really concerned about tax revenue, they would pay their fair share of company tax. It is their profits they are worried about – money that comes from destroying our planet then leaving someone else to clean up the mess,” FLAC wrote on social media.

“We are concerned with a sustainable future for our planet. For mining companies to destroy our climate for their own profits and then try to claim the moral high ground is dishonest and pathetic,” FLAC said.

The Guardian reported that in May, fossil fuel producers complained to a parliamentary inquiry that campaigns against the industry were making it harder to finance and insure major projects.

Adani told the inquiry it had been refused loans and insurance, and contractors and business partners had walked away.

Since the campaign against Adani began in 2012, financial markets have shifted away from coal. At the Glasgow climate summit, over 40 countries agreed to phase out coal power.