The Macquarie University Roots & Shoots Pod is currently undertaking a Stop Adani Project; an imperative campaign as the mining project has just been granted the funding it requires to begin construction before Christmas.
The Macquarie University Roots & Shoots Pod comprises a diverse range of students all of whom are studying a Bachleor of Laws and have a passion for environmental activism.
Standing L-R Bell Knowles, Diana Kazakov, Tessa Marsden, Grace Vegesana, Oliver Moss, Annie Renouf, Adrienna Lim
Sitting L-R Bec Day, Seren Ozdemir, Alex Pan, Sophie Maher, Annabel Anderson
As young people, the Roots & Shoots team are concerned about the Australian Government’s insufficient response to the consensus of the scientific community regarding the potential impacts of anthropogenic climate change for animals, people and the environment. The Pod will be presenting a letter (written by lead authors Annabel Anderson, Annie Renouf and Grace Vegesana) to their local MPs. Pod members will partake in sit down meetings, participate in phone calls and/or email correspondence to deliver their message to political representatives.
Pod leader Annabel Anderson speaks of the project ‘it is an important demonstration of the power of grassroots campaigners to elicit environmental action. Our government is refusing to make changes so we must be the change. It sends a clear message that we will continue to write, speak, strike, resist and demand protection for our planet by phasing out non-renewable energy sources completely.’
You can find a copy of the letter here: MQ Roots & Shoots Pod Official Adani Letter
Please feel free to share on social media or print off a copy to send to your local MP and join our movement! Below are the key arguments the MQ Roots & Shoots Pod have raised, imploring the Government to prevent the Adani mine from being built:
Coal is the single biggest contributor to the climate effect responsible for 46% of carbon dioxide emissions internationally.[1] To fulfil our environmental responsibilities and prevent global warming from exceeding above 1.5oC, Australia needs to make the shift to renewable energy sources by 2040. Preventing the approval, construction and operation of The Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Project is vital in order to achieve this sustainable development goal outlined in the IPCC Report 2018.
On the 28th November 2018, the United Nations released their Emissions Gap Report which listed Australia as a G20 country that will not meet its 2030 emissions reduction target of 26-28%.[2]
Aside from the contribution of non-renewable resources such as coal to the climate effect, threatening the security of humans and the planet, the list of reasons why the Australian Government must stop the Adani project is exhaustive. We put forward six critical reasons why we need your support to prevent this project from going ahead:
STOP ADANI FOR OUR PEOPLE:
Coal is the biggest single cause of air pollution in Australia, contributing to 3,000 deaths per year.[3] Greenpeace East Asia recently released a report on air pollution in which Australia was ranked 40th on the global list of most air polluted nations.[4] The levels of nitrogen dioxide released primarily from Australia’s coal-fired power stations are dangerously high.
The Adani mine site is also a dangerous working environment, an accident in 2016 saw 7 workers killed when a hot water pipeline burst and approximately 19 cases of black lung have been identified amongst workers caused by coal dust.[5]
STOP ADANI FOR OUR WATER:
Adani will draw approximately 270 billion litres of water from the Great Artesian and other precious basins. The scale of the Adani mine will have an irreversible impact on Queensland’s groundwater resources and risk the pollution of local rivers. Adani’s mine will drain water from the rare Doongmabulla and Mellaluka Springs which are ecologically significant locations supporting native flora and fauna for over 1 million years.
Adani will not be charged for the water they consume, whilst stripping Australian farmers of their rights. Our farmers are already facing a ravaging drought. Documentation has revealed that farmers have been denied access to the Suttor River, however Adani has been granted permission to drain 12.5 billion litres from this same river. This is devastating for drought-stricken farmers.
STOP ADANI FOR OUR NATIONS’ FIRST PEOPLE:
Adani have actively worked to divide the Wangan and Jagalingou people to claim their consent to the mine. The Wangan and Jagalingou people have rejected a land deal with Adani four times since 2012 and have two court challenges underway yet Adani has continued with the project.[6] The Adani Mine, rail and port project will degrade cultural sites including sacred rock art and burial sites. These locations are vital to enable Indigenous Australians to express their spirituality and live out their obligations established by the Dreaming.
STOP ADANI FOR OUR REEF:
The Great Barrier Reef has already experienced devastating coral bleaching from rising sea temperatures as a result of global warming. If current climate trends continue, scientists estimate that in less than twenty years, coral on the Great Barrier Reef will experience serious bleaching.
The Great Barrier Reef, now teeming with life, will become a graveyard in decades. The scientific community indicates that 1.5oC of global warming will destroy at least 70% of the world’s coral reef.[7] Burning the coal from Adani’s mine will help lock-in this tragic fate for one of the world’s natural wonders. This presents detrimental impacts for the marine ecosystem as well as Queensland economy as the Great Barrier Reef tourism industry currently generates 64,000 jobs in Australia and contributes 6.4 billion dollars to the national economy in a sustainable manner.[8]
In 2017 Adani exceeded its permitted pollution discharge limit to the Great Barrier Reef by over 800% at the Port of Abbot Point spilling coal laden water into the Caley Valley Wetlands.[9]
STOP ADANI FOR OUR NATIVE SPECIES
Climate change will also be accelerated by the land clearing required to build the mine. In total 20,200 hectares of land, equivalent to over 28,000 soccer fields, would be cleared to make way for this mine. Over half of the land that would be cleared is mature woodland and bushland which is vitally important habitat for many animals including threatened species such as koalas, echidnas and endangered birds.
As if more evidence is required to halt this project: several Adani companies are currently under investigation for corruption, fraud, money laundering and tax evasion. Furthermore, Adani began mining in 2018 without government authorisation – breaking Federal law.[10] The four major Australian banks have refused to fund or have withdrawn their funding of the Carmichael mine and on November 5th, major Korean lenders refused to fund the project.
STOP ADANI FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
Support is dwindling and we are asking for you to help us (as grassroots campaigners) to take our message to the policy level. This will give the #StopAdani campaign the final push it requires to secure a clean energy future to protect people, animals and our environment. It is a matter which we have decided to take action on based on the concerns of the young people we represent. Young people deserve a secure future and we will continue to write, speak, strike and resist until we see the changes that our world needs.
We implore you to join our movement.
Image via #StopAdani
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[1] ENDCOAL.org, ‘Climate Change’, 2017 < https://endcoal.org/climate-change/>.
[2] UN Environment, ‘Emissions Gap Report 2018’, United Nations <https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2018>.
[3] Begg, Vos, Barker et al. The burden of disease an injury in Australia 2003, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Cat. No. PHE 82, Canberra (2007) p 234 <http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=6442467990>; Lockwood, Welker-Hood, Rauch et al. Coal’s assault on human health, Physicians for Social Responsibility <www.psr.org/assets/pdfs/psr-coal-fullreport.pdf>.
[4] Greenpeace East Asia 2018.
[5] 22 cases of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis have been confirmed in Queensland.
[6] Traditional Owners fighting Adani make demands of new Labor Government, Wangan & Jagalingou Family Council, 8 December 2018, <http://wanganjagalingou.com.au/wj-make-demands-of-new-labor-govt-on-adani/>.
[7] Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5oC, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, October 2018.
[8] At what price? The economic, social and icon value of the Great Barrier Reef, Deloitte Access Economics in conjunction with The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, <https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/Economics/deloitte-au-economics-great-barrier-reef-230617.pdf>.
[9] Stop Adani Wrecking Our Reef, Fight for our Reef, < https://www.marineconservation.org.au/stop-adani-wrecking-our-reef/>.
[10] Mark Willacy, Adani groundwater bores investigated amid claims they were sunk without approval, ABC News (Online), 12 September 2018, <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-12/adani-groundwater-bores-investigated-by-queensland-department/10231752>.
JGIA acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this nation. We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands and pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present.