Resources minister Matt Canavan's Jobs, jobs, jobs Adani coal mantra is bullshit

Jobs, jobs, and more jobs, that's the mantra by both the Liberal National Coalition Federal Government and the Queensland State Labor Government, and bugger the reef and the rising temperatures of climate change.

On Friday Westpac Bank released their climate change Position statement and 2020 action Plan. This effectively rules out any funding of Adani for the Carmichael coal project.

Matt Canavan, and Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce on Lateline, continue this mantra, to peddle the myth that 10,000 or more jobs will be generated, when in court Adani admitted only 1464 jobs would be created. In fact, Adani hope to fully automate much of the mining and transport, so jobs could be even less than stated in court.

If the Adani Carmichael coal mine proceeds, it is also likely to hurt existing coal jobs in Queensland and New South Wales.

New Westpac climate policy rules out financing Adani Carmichael coal mine

Westpac have released their climate change Position statement and 2020 action Plan. This effectively rules out any funding of Adani for the Carmichael coal project.

Westpac becomes the 4th and last of the big 4 Australian banks to rule out financing the Adani project, and makes it the 19th bank globally to have either ruled out funding Galilee Basin coal export projects directly, or through the introduction of a new policy.

Westpac came under intense pressure from community organisations to rule out funding for Adani, with numerous protests outside bank branches, questions at AGMs, and a campaign urging customers to divest. Without this community social pressure Westpac's climate change position may have been much less rigorous.

Stop Adani climate protest occupies Downer EDI office: Don't get into bed with Adani

About 20 Activists this morning occupied the Melbourne offices of Downer, an infrastructure company, to protest participation in developing the Adani Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin of Queensland, widely seen as a climate carbon bomb with no social license.

The Adani Carmichael coal mine is a climate carbon bomb that would push temperatures well past the 2 degrees C limit that countries set in Paris UN climate Conference in 2015 at COP21. Research shows that Australia needs to leave 95 percent of it's coal in the ground unexploited and unburnt to stand a reasonable chance of not exceeding the 2C target.

In January 2015 it was announced that Downer EDI had won a $2 billion contract for works at Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, according to Australian Mining.

Ambitious plan to bend global emissions curve by 2020, while Australia continues Adani coal push

At Google HQ in London an ambitious plan was launched by former UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres to accelerate climate action and bend the global emissions curve down by 2020.

Figueres outlined six areas where action was needed to make 2020 a real turning point in the global emissions trend. For the last 3 years global emissions have been flat despite rising global GDP, a sign that economies are increasingly becoming disengaged from processes of carbon pollution.

While in Australia the Liberal National Party Federal Government lead by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is keenly supporting the Adani Carmichael coal mine development, supported by the Queensland Labor Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Shining a light in Melbourne on Reef not Coal

Originally posted at Climate Action Moreland

Last night I ventured to Federation Square. I had heard that Nemo and Dory were in town.

The Climate Guardian angels were also there poignantly making a statement with a piece of the redline ribbon from Paris COP21 last year. The redline derives from diplomatic symbolism for a boundary or limit which should not be crossed. No new coal mines or other fossil fuels is one such boundary for a safe climate, backed up by research by McGlade and Ekins (2015) (See Unburnable carbon: why we need to leave fossil fuels in the ground). Two of the Angels present are from our Climate Action Moreland group.

Seems the East Australian current is warmer and going further south. The Tasman sea has warmed by over 2 degrees C in the last 70 years - it's a global sea surface temperature hotspot. That's climate change for you.

Coral Bleaching prompts Australian Environment Ministers: Strong and urgent action needed on climate change

This article was originally published at nofibs.com.au

In a late night conference call on Wednesday night 20 April 2016 between Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt, Queensland State Environment minister Steven Miles and Environment ministers from other states it was agreed that what is currently happening on the Great Barrier Reef is alarming and is an issue of concern not just to Queenslanders but to all Australians.

Ministers all agreed that strong and urgent action was needed on climate change.

Townsville MP Ewen Jones praises #coal as #Reef suffers massive coral bleaching

Original article published at nofibs.com.au

Ewen Jones is the Liberal Party Federal MP from the Townsville based north Queensland electorate of Herbert. He stated on the ABC QandA program on Monday night, "We have just had the Carmichael mine approved and I think that is a good thing for us."

Both the Liberal National Party Federal Government and the Labor Queensland State Government have approved for development the huge Adani Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee basin in Queensland. But the coal mine is widely seen as a major climate carbon bomb that would make achieving the under 2 Degree C temperature target adopted in Paris as impossible.

At current coal prices and with the coal export market to India and China tanking, development of the mine is seen as simply un-economic in current circumstances without massive government subsidies. And that is exactly what Liberal MP Ewen Jones proposed on ABC QandA program on Monday night.

Labor Premier Palaszczuk approves Adani #coal mine leases furthering reef and #climate destruction

Original article published at nofibs.com.au

This morning (Sunday 3 April) the Queensland Mines Minister Anthony Lynham and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk issued a joint statement for approval of mine leases for the Carmichael coal mine and rail project in Queensland's Galilee Basin. Their statement was widely condemned by environment and climate organisations.

The mine lease approval comes on the tail of the worst coral bleaching event on record for the Great Barrier Reef. Researchers found that 95 per cent of the northern 1000 km of the reef system up to Torres Strait was badly bleached. We know this is a direct consequence of climate change. There is no record of extreme coral bleaching events before 1998. See the ABC 7.30 Report on the extreme bleaching event caused by climate change, or read Graham Readfearn writing in the Guardian newspaper on the Link between fossil fuels and Great Barrier Reef bleaching clear and incontrovertible.

AYCC #CoralnotCoal protest during Indian Finance Minister visit

The Indian Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, was in Australia for 4 days trying to wrangle investment money for infrastructure projects India, but also potentially including the the giant Adani Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin of Queensland. Read the original article at nofibs.com.au

It was reported in Indian media (1, 2) before Jaitley left India that he was meeting with Australian Finance Minister Matthias Cormann and the $120 billion sovereign wealth Future Fund Chairman Peter Costello, in regard to sourcing investment funding in Indian projects, possibly including Adani's Carmichael mine.

When asked in Sydney if he would discuss the issue of Adani's Carmichael coal mine project in Queensland with Australian leaders and investors he replied with "not really", then elaborated slightly, "This is a subject which is internal to Australia and this is not the purpose of my visit," he said, reported The Press Trust of India.

So Adani was not the purpose of the Minister's visit, but it wasn't a full rejection that the subjection may be discussed either.

Aussie Environment Minister Greg Hunt rebranded as #MinisterForCoal

On Friday the #Ministerforcoal hashtag was trending in Melbourne and then in Australia on Twitter. Activists had decided to inject some honesty into his ministerial position by rebranding him from Minister for the Environment to Minister for Coal.

Fifty or so activists attended his electorate office for the seat of Flinders in Hastings. While one group locked together inside, another group climbed onto the roof and unfurled bannerssaying "Minister for Coal".

The protesters were highlighting Greg Hunt's approval for the second time of the Adani Carmichael coal mine in Queensland's Galilee basin. With coal prices being in the doldrums and most Australian and international banks refusing to finance the project, it is looking very much like a stranded asset.

Here is the story as it unfolded in Hastings:

Climate Guardians in Environment Minister roof protest over Adani coal mine approval

Melbourne's climate Guardian Angels have descended on top of Environment Minister Greg Hunt's electoral office in Hastings in a rooftop protest at the re-approval of the Adani Carmichael coal mine in Queensland's Galilee basin.

Update: after a full day and evening on top of the roof, the Climate Angels have now safely descended. No arrests.

The original Minister's approval for the Carmichael Coal mine had to be set aside when challenged by the Mackay Conservation Group that the Minister had ignored and not taken into account two threatened species.

The Minister, Greg Hunt, has subsequently drawn up an approval notice with conditions and sent a media release on Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Infrastructure project on 15October, 2015. These conditions include establishing offset habitat and $1 million of funding for research programs to improve conservation of threatened species in the Galilee Basin over 10 years.