Thursday 4 May 2017
How soon will Adani go broke in the Galilee Basin?
Reading the information set out below leads me to wonder how the Federal Government and Queensland Government will cope, both politically and economically, if the Adani Group's Carmichael Mine and Rail Project leads to a massive derelict mine site with its twenty-six Australian subsidiaries under administration or in receivership.
2013
The Adani Group is highly geared:
Against an external market capitalisation of US$5.17bn, The Adani Group has an estimated US$12bn of net debt, a significant portion of which is US$-denominated with limited hedging.
Adani Power is of particular concern, being loss-making with net debt over 300% of its current market capitalisation.
2015
The project would require a massive and improbable infusion of debt, but a growing number of global banks key to most major coal-mining investments have eschewed it, mostly because of the risk it would pose to the Great Barrier Reef. (The 11 banks that have taken a public pass on the project include Deutsche Bank; HSBC; Royal Bank of Scotland; Barclays; Morgan Stanley; Citigroup; Goldman Sachs; JP Morgan Chase and most recently Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole. In May 2015 Bank of America announced it would move to exit coal lending entirely.
With the Carmichael coal proposal commercially unviable at current or forecast thermal coal prices, the project is increasingly unbankable. Fifteen of the world's largest financial houses have either ceased working on this proposal or ruled out involvement, including both CBA and Standard Chartered, where advisory mandates have expired.
Continued momentum in technological developments underpins the scaled up commercial rollout of renewable energy and energy efficiency globally. As such, the strategic 'moment' for large-scale export-focused greenfields coal mines has passed.
2017
Shareholders and financiers of Adani Enterprises face substantial risks due to the company's continuing development of the controversy-plagued Carmichael coal project in the face of major adverse structural shifts in market conditions.
The proposed mine, in Australia's remote Galilee Basin, remains a high-cost, high-risk project that is reliant on substantial public subsidies for it to be remotely financially viable. Even with concessional loans, IEEFA analysis shows the project is likely to be cash flow negative for the majority of its operating life.
Shifts in Indian energy policy and pricing have materially increased the risk of Carmichael becoming a stranded asset. Legal challenges and community opposition to the project persist and are likely to escalate if the project moves to construction.
With a market capitalisation of just US$1.9bn and net debt of US$2.5bn, Adani Enterprises Ltd will struggle to contribute equity for this A$5bn project. The project risks over-extending the balance sheet of Adani Enterprises to an extreme degree, creating a high level of financial risk to both shareholders and potential financiers……
In the years since Adani purchased the lease for the Carmichael mine, Indian government energy policy has shifted radically. Energy Minister Piyush Goyal has stated repeatedly that it is government policy to cease thermal coal imports—a policy that brings into question the very point of the proposed mine…..
* The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) conducts research and analyses on financial and economic issues related to energy and the environment. The Institute's mission is to accelerate the transition to a diverse, sustainable and profitable energy economy.
The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis receives its funding from philanthropic organizations. We gratefully acknowledge our funders, including the Rockefeller Family Fund, Energy Foundation, Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, Moxie Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Growald Family Fund, Flora Family Fund, Wallace Global Fund, and V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation.
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The Hindu, 5 May 2016:
"PSU banks are owed about Rs 5 lakh crore by corporate houses and of this roughly Rs 1.4 lakh crore are owed by just five companies, which include Lanco, GVK, Suzlon Energy, Hindustan Construction Company and a certain company called the Adani Group and Adani Power," he said.
The amount owed by this group "called the Adani Group" both in terms of its long term and short term debt on Thursday is around Rs 72,000 crore, he added quoting reports.
"Yesterday it was mentioned that the entire amount that the farmers need to pay as crop loans is Rs 72,000 crore. The Adani Group itself owes to the banks Rs 72,000 crore," he said.
The Hindu, 8 May 2016:
The billionaire Gautam Adani's Adani group, with Rs 96,031 crore debt [est. AUD $1.9 billion], is under pressure to sell its stake in the Abbott Point coal mines, port and rail project. The Adani Group's debt stands at Rs. 72,000 crore [est. AUD $1.4 billion]. Last year, Standard Chartered bank had recalled loans amounting to $2.5 billion as part of its global policy of reducing exposure in emerging markets. Global lenders have backed out from funding the $10-billion coal mine development project. State Bank of India has also declined to offer a loan despite signing an MoU to fund the group with $1 billion. An Adani spokesperson declined to offer any comments on the issue.
India Infoline News Service, 19 May 2016:
S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ) to negative from stable.
ABC News, 22 December 2016:
The business behind the planned Carmichael coal mine in North Queensland is facing multiple financial crime and corruption probes, with Indian authorities investigating Adani companies for siphoning money offshore and artificially inflating power prices
Companies under scrutiny for the alleged corrupt conduct include Adani Enterprises Limited — the ultimate parent company of the massive mine planned for the Galilee Basin.
Two separate investigations into allegations of trade-based money laundering by Adani companies are underway — one into the fraudulent invoicing of coal imports and the other into a scam involving false invoicing for capital equipment imports.
"They are very serious allegations and they are being conducted by the premier Indian government agency investigating financial crime," Australia's foremost expert on money laundering, Professor David Chaikin of the University of Sydney, told the ABC.
"The allegations involve substantial sums of money with major losses to the Indian taxpayer."
Adani denies wrongdoing.
Rediff, 10 January 2017:
For the past year, Adani Power has been undergoing an overhaul for its debt, including measures such as equity infusion and refinancing. These have helped the company survive the rough times since proceeds from the compensatory rates are yet to come by.
The firm expects its recent equity infusion, debt refinancing and the compensatory rate to lead to a turnaround in its financial position….
On December 6, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission granted a compensatory rate for Adani Power's Mundra unit on the grounds of changes in Indonesian coal policy and shortage of domestic coal.
In the address to analysts, after the September quarter results, the management said: "Once we have clarity in the form of CERC orders, we would obviously have the reason to work with the rating agencies and then we will make our plans."
The CERC order, however, has not led to any change of credit ratings so far for the company as its implementation hinges on the required Supreme Court approval for the same.
CatchNews, 14 February 2017:
Earlier this year, the State Bank of India reportedly approved a loan of around $1 billion (Rs 6,600 crore ) for the company's coal mine in Australia. However, after much hue and cry in the media due to the highly stressed balance sheet of the public sector bank, the approval was withdrawn.
Hindustan Times, 11 April 2017:
The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside an order by the Appellate Tribunal For Electricity allowing compensatory tariff to Tata Power Ltd and Adani Power Ltd, sending down shares of both companies.
Shares of Tata Power reversed early gains to fall as much as 6.78%, while Adani Power slumped up to 20% to its lowest since February 21.
The tribunal, in April last year, had said the two companies needed to be compensated as the change in Indonesian laws on coal export prices were outside the control of these companies.
Financial Review, 11 April 2017:
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has told Malcolm Turnbull his company will seek a taxpayer-funded concessional loan of up to $1 billion to support his proposed $21.7 billion coal mine in Queensland......
Following a meeting with Mr Adani and his executives in New Delhi on Monday night, Mr Turnbull cautioned the loan – to help build a $2 billion railway line to link the mine to the coast – would have to be approved on its commercial merits by the independent board which administers the $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund.
The Northern Star, 16 April 2017:
Shares for Adani Power Limited, the Adani Group subsidiary energy provider in India, were trading at 44.25 rupees (AU$0.9) on Monday, but dropped to 32.90 rupees by the end of trading on Friday.
Adani Enterprises, the subsidiary connected with the Carmichael Coal project, traded on Monday for 120.10 rupees ($AU2.46) a share, but has also dropped, reaching 116.85 by the end of Friday.
Westpac Bank, Climate
Change Position Statement and 2020 Action Plan, April 2017:
….the International
Energy Association’s (IEA) modelling indicates that under a two degree scenario
thermal coal demand will peak in the current decade and decline thereafter…..
However, for new thermal
coal proposals we will: Limit lending to any new thermal coal mines or projects
(including those of existing customers) to only existing coal producing basins
and where the calorific value for that mine ranks in at least the top 15%
globally. We define the top 15% as having a specific energy content of at least
6,300 kCal/kg Gross As Received. This value is referred to as the Newcastle
high energy coal benchmark.
Wednesday 3 May 2017
U.S. Trump Regime's Anti-science Stance Hardens aka Where To Get Basic EPA 2016 Climate Change Data While You Can
Searching with Google for https://www.epa.gov/ on 29 April 2017 and clicking on link to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Change Basic Information - Causes of Climate Change - Great Plains, this webpage appeared:
The change appears to have occurred on or about 21 April 2017.
The ‘explanation’ for this change is expanded at https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-kicks-website-updates:
News Releases from Headquarters› Office of the Administrator (AO)
EPA Kicks Off Website Updates
WASHINGTON – EPA.gov, the website for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, is undergoing changes that reflect the agency’s new direction under President Donald Trump and Administrator Scott Pruitt. The process, which involves updating language to reflect the approach of new leadership, is intended to ensure that the public can use the website to understand the agency's current efforts. The changes will comply with agency ethics and legal guidance, including the use of proper archiving procedures. For instance, a screenshot of the last administration’s website will remain available from the main page.
“As EPA renews its commitment to human health and clean air, land, and water, our website needs to reflect the views of the leadership of the agency,” said J.P. Freire, Associate Administrator for Public Affairs. “We want to eliminate confusion by removing outdated language first and making room to discuss how we’re protecting the environment and human health by partnering with states and working within the law.”
The first page to be updated is a page reflecting President Trump’s Executive Order on Energy Independence, which calls for a review of the so-called Clean Power Plan. Language associated with the Clean Power Plan, written by the last administration, is out of date. Similarly, content related to climate and regulation is also being reviewed.
“As EPA renews its commitment to human health and clean air, land, and water, our website needs to reflect the views of the leadership of the agency,” said J.P. Freire, Associate Administrator for Public Affairs. “We want to eliminate confusion by removing outdated language first and making room to discuss how we’re protecting the environment and human health by partnering with states and working within the law.”
The first page to be updated is a page reflecting President Trump’s Executive Order on Energy Independence, which calls for a review of the so-called Clean Power Plan. Language associated with the Clean Power Plan, written by the last administration, is out of date. Similarly, content related to climate and regulation is also being reviewed.
While Twitter showed a link this in the official EPA timeline on 29 April 2017.
Fox News Insider, 27 April 2017:
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said on "The First 100 Days" tonight the United States should exit the Paris climate agreement because it's a "bad business deal" for America.
Pruitt said the U.S. "front-loaded" our costs under the Paris accord, while countries like China, Russia and India can continue to pollute and not take steps that our country already has.
He noted that U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are at pre-1994 levels, thanks to innovation and technology.
"What we should be talking about is how we export innovation, how we export technology that we've already deployed here," Pruitt said.
He said that the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan and the Paris deal represented a $2.2 trillion reduction in gross domestic product over a ten year period for the U.S., in addition to $292 billion of compliance costs and up to 400,000 lost jobs annually.
"That's a bad business deal for this country," Pruitt said, calling it a prime example of the previous administration's "America last" strategy.
To date there are an est. 14,481 EPA webpage captures on the Wayback Machine between 18 Apr 1997 and 28 Apr 2017.
So before Donald Trump rewrites U.S. climate change history and smothers the EPA website with 'alternative facts' I suggest interested readers download what data they can while they can.
EPA's Climate Change Indicators in the United States was published in 2016 and here is the Wayback archive of that document:
2016 full report (PDF)(96 pp, 20 MB, August 2016)
2016 fact sheet (PDF)(2 pp, 2 MB, October 2016)
EPA has developed comprehensive technical documentation that describes the data sources and analytical methods for every indicator presented in the Climate Change Indicators in the United States report. A PDF version of the technical documentation is provided below for each indicator, along with an overview that describes EPA's process for selecting and evaluating indicators.
Additional files you can download from other pages:
High-resolution figures and the numerical data underlying the figures (on each indicator page)
You may need Adobe Reader to view files on this page. See EPA’s About PDF page to learn more.
Technical documentation overview (PDF)(15 pp, 339 K, August 2016)
Antarctic Sea Ice technical documentation (PDF)(7 pp, 302 K, August 2016)
Arctic Sea Ice technical documentation (PDF)(11 pp, 382 K, November 2016)
Atmospheric Concentrations of Greenhouse Gases technical documentation (PDF)(16 pp, 431 K, August 2016)
Bird Wintering Ranges technical documentation (PDF)(5 pp, 223 K, May 2014)
Climate Forcing technical documentation (PDF)(7 pp, 248 K, August 2016)
Cherry Blossom Bloom Dates in Washington, D.C. technical documentation (PDF)(3 pp, 173 K, April 2016)
Coastal Flooding Documentation (PDF)(6 pp, 202 K)
Drought technical documentation (PDF)(9 pp, 273 K, August 2016)
Glaciers technical documentation (PDF)(8 pp, 260 K, August 2016)
Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions technical documentation (PDF)(8 pp, 226 K, August 2016)
Great Lakes Water Levels and Temperatures technical documentation (PDF)(7 pp, 268 K, August 2016)
Heating and Cooling Degree Days technical documentation (PDF)(6 pp, 222 K, August 2016)
Heat-Related Deaths technical documentation (PDF)(9 pp, 399 K, August 2016)
Heat-Related Illnesses technical documentation (PDF)(7 pp, 209 K, August 2016)
Heavy Precipitation technical documentation (PDF)(7 pp, 195 K, August 2016)
High and Low Temperatures technical documentation (PDF)(10 pp, 244 K, August 2016)
Ice Breakup in Two Alaskan Rivers technical documentation (PDF)(4 pp, 178 K, August 2016)
Lake Ice technical documentation (PDF)(9 pp, 270 K, August 2016)
Land Loss Along the Atlantic Coast technical documentation (PDF)(21 pp, 1 MB, May 2014)
Leaf and Bloom Dates technical documentation (PDF)(7 pp, 216 K, August 2016)
Length of Growing Season technical documentation (PDF)(5 pp, 233 K, August 2016)
Lyme Disease technical documentation (PDF)(9 pp, 309 K, August 2016)
Marine Species Distribution technical documentation (PDF)(6 pp, 255 K, August 2016)
Ocean Acidity technical documentation (PDF)(6 pp, 295 K, August 2016)
Ocean Heat technical documentation (PDF)(5 pp, 195 K, August 2016)
Ragweed Pollen Season technical documentation (PDF)(5 pp, 208 K, August 2016)
River Flooding technical documentation (PDF)(5 pp, 184 K, August 2016)
Sea Level technical documentation (PDF)(11 pp, 301 K, August 2016)
Sea Surface Temperature technical documentation (PDF)(6 pp, 184 K, August 2016)
Snow Cover technical documentation (PDF)(6 pp, 210 K, August 2016)
Snowfall technical documentation (PDF)(7 pp, 212 K, August 2016)
Snowpack technical documentation (PDF)(6 pp, 223 K, August 2016)
Streamflow technical documentation (PDF) (PDF)(7 pp, 201 K, March 2017)
Stream Temperature technical documentation (PDF)(4 pp, 197 K, August 2016)
Temperature and Drought in the Southwest technical documentation (PDF)(10 pp, 248 K, August 2016)
Trends in Stream Temperature in the Snake River technical documentation (PDF)(4 pp, 171 K, August 2016)
Tropical Cyclone Activity technical documentation (PDF)(8 pp, 223 K, August 2016)
U.S. and Global Precipitation technical documentation (PDF)(6 pp, 183 K, August 2016)
U.S. and Global Temperature technical documentation (PDF)(9 pp, 242 K, August 2016)
U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions technical documentation (PDF)(6 pp, 249 K, August 2016)
West Nile Virus technical documentation (PDF)(6 pp, 206 K, August 2016)
Wildfires technical documentation (PDF)(13 pp, 548 K, August 2016)
Australia 2017: No, means no in the bush when it comes to the gas industry
Go to http://majorprojects.planning.nsw.gov.au/index.pl?action=view_job&job_id=6456 to view Santos Ltd/Santos NSW (Eastern) Pty Ltd’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for it Narrabri Gas Project – a proposed 850 well gasfield across the Pilliga.
“Santos Narrabri Gas Project is merely a Trojan Horse to get hold of the whole of NSW”, Protect the West, 6 April 2017
Submission deadline is 22 May 2017.
Tuesday 2 May 2017
THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC RIGHT TO PROTEST: High Court of Australia, BROWN & ANOR versus THE STATE OF TASMANIA, 2 May 2017
BROWN & ANOR versus THE STATE OF TASMANIA, High Court of Australia, Canberra on 2 May 2017 at 10.15 am before the full court:
Date Special Case referred to Full Court: 13 December 2016
The issue in this proceeding is whether the Workplace (Protection from Protesters Act) 2014 (Tas) (‘the Act’), in whole or in part, contravenes the implied freedom of political communication in the Commonwealth Constitution.
The plaintiffs were each arrested and charged, purportedly under the Act, in early 2016 as a result of their onsite political protest against the proposed logging of the Lapoinya Forest in Tasmania. The respective criminal proceedings against them were abandoned by the police after the commencement of this proceeding. The plaintiffs contend that the Act is either wholly invalid or, at the least, is invalid in so far as it applies to forestry operations on forestry land as defined in s 3 of the Act.
The Act allows police officers to prevent the commencement or continuation of an onsite political protest that they reasonably believe is preventing, hindering or obstructing or is about to prevent, hinder or obstruct a "business activity" at any "business premises" or "business access area" as defined in s 3 of the Act, anywhere in Tasmania. The key provisions empower police officers to prevent the commencement or continuation of onsite political protests by directing the protesters to leave and stay away from business premises and business access areas for up to three months under pain of arrest and of criminal penalties if they do not do so.
The plaintiffs contend that ss 6 and 7 of the Act target and single out for prevention and punishment onsite political protest and protesters without any broader purpose of preserving, enhancing or protecting political communication. Further, they contend that no reasonable provision has been made in the Act to preserve or protect political communication.
The defendant contends that the Act protects (amongst other things) business activity lawfully carried out on land in the lawful possession of a business operator, and that the plaintiffs are seeking to prevent, hinder or obstruct activity of that nature. They submit that the Act does not restrict protest activity on land other than business premises or business access areas; it has a narrow operation and effect; it is compatible with the freedom and is in any event reasonably and appropriately adapted to the fulfilment of a legitimate purpose.
On 13 December 2016 Gordon J referred the Special Case for consideration by the Full Court. Notices of Constitutional Matter have been served. The Attorneys-General for the Commonwealth, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia have filed Notices of Intervention. The Human Rights Law Centre has been granted leave to appear as amicus curiae, limited to submissions in writing.
The question in the Special Case is:
• Is the Workplace (Protection from Protesters) Act 2014 (Tas), either in its entirety or in its operation in respect of forestry land, invalid because it impermissibly burdens the implied freedom of political communication contrary to the Commonwealth Constitution?
Westpac Bank pledges not to finance new thermal coal mines or projects in new coal producing basins
“However, for new thermal coal proposals we will: Limit lending to any new thermal coal mines or projects (including those of existing customers) to only existing coal producing basins and where the calorific value for that mine ranks in at least the top 15% globally. We define the top 15% as having a specific energy content of at least 6,300 kCal/kg Gross As Received. This value is referred to as the Newcastle high energy coal benchmark.” [Westpac Bank, Climate Change Action Plan, April 2017]
Westpac Bank, media release, 28 April 2017:
* $10 billion target for lending to climate change solutions by 2020 and $25 billion by 2030.
* Tighter criteria for financing any new coal mines. Financing for any new thermal coal projects limited to existing coal producing basins and where the calorific value of coal meets the energy content of at least 6,300kCal/kg Gross as Received – i.e. projects must rank in the top 15% globally.
* Commitment to actively reduce the emissions intensity of the power generation sector, targeting 0.30 tCO2e/MWh by 2020.
* Continued commitment to a broad market-based price on carbon as the most efficient way to encourage emissions reductions at the lowest cost to the economy.
* Setting target to reduce Westpac’s direct footprint emissions (i.e., in our workplaces, across our branch network and IT operations) by 9% by 2020, and 34% by 2030.
* Building on our commitment to helping households become more climate-resilient, improving their energy efficiency, and reducing their environmental impact.
Westpac today released its third Climate Change Action Plan (PDF 1MB), as part of its commitment to helping limit global warming to less than two degrees.
The principles of the updated plan reflect a scientific, practical approach around lending to energy intensive and renewable sectors as well as reducing Westpac’s own carbon footprint. Westpac has had a clear and consistent approach to climate change since releasing its first climate change statement almost a decade ago.
Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer said: “Westpac recognises that climate change is an economic issue as well as an environmental issue, and banks have an important role to play in assisting the Australian economy to transition to a net zero emissions economy.
“Limiting global warming will require a collaborative effort as we transition to lower emissions sectors, while also taking steps to help the economy and our communities become more resilient.
“As a major lender Westpac is committed to supporting climate change solutions that will drive the transition to a more sustainable economic model, and we have increased our lending target for this sector from $6.2 billion to $10 billion by 2020 and to $25 billion by 2030.
“At the same time we recognise that energy security is essential for the long term economic health of Australia. That is why Westpac is committing to actively reducing the emissions intensity of our exposure to the power generation sector over time, and we have a target to reduce this portfolio to 0.30 tCO2e/MWh by 2020.
“In addition, we will limit lending to new thermal coal projects to existing coal producing basins only, and where the energy content of the coal ranks in the top 15% globally,” he said.
Westpac is also committing to help Australian households become more climate-resilient, improve their energy efficiency, and reduce their environmental impact.
Westpac was the first Australian bank to release a climate change statement in 2008, and was named the world’s most sustainable bank by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the ninth time in 2016.
Westpac’s principles-based approach to climate change is summarised below. These principles are based on a scientific approach, building on the scenario analysis undertaken in 2016 as reported in Westpac’s 2016 Sustainability Report.
Our Principles
|
Our Actions
|
1. A transition to a net zero emissions economy is required
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1. Provide finance to back climate change solutions
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2. Economic growth and emissions reductions are complementary goals
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2. Support businesses that manage their climate-related risks
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3. Addressing climate change creates financial opportunities
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3. Help individual customers respond to climate change
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4. Climate-related risk is a financial risk
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4. Improve and disclose our climate change performance
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5. Transparency and disclosure matters
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5. Advocate for policies that stimulate investment in climate change solutions
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To date it does not appear that the Adani Group has approached Westpac in relation to the Carmichael Mine and Rail Project in the Galilee Basin, Queensland.
It is noted that there is no firm guarantee that all Adani project infrastructure would be barred from financing through the bank – although so many people across Australia are hoping that such a prohibition exists.
Concerned citizens need to keep an eye on the ball, because it is possible that the Turnbull Government will begin to pressure Westpac concerning its firmer policy on climate change.
Labels:
banks and bankers,
climate change,
coal,
ethics,
mining
Monday 1 May 2017
Left unchecked the gas & coal mining sectors will be the death of the Great Artesian Basin and what is left of the Great Barrier Reef
According to an August 2016 Report Commissioned By The Australian Government And Great Artesian Basin Jurisdictions Based On Advice From The Great Artesian Basin Coordinating Committee the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) is one of the largest underground freshwater reservoirs in the world. It underlies approximately 22% of Australia – occupying an area of over 1.7 million square kilometres beneath arid and semi-arid parts of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and the Northern Territory. Approximately 70% of the GAB lies within Queensland…..
The first people to make use of GAB water were Indigenous tribes for whom it was critical to survival. Indeed, there is evidence that the GAB sustained Aboriginal people for thousands of years prior to European settlement.
The natural springs of the GAB provided a critical source of fresh water, and supported valuable food sources including birds, mammals, reptiles, crustaceans and insects, creating an abundant hunting ground for local tribes. The plants and trees around the artesian springs were used for food, medicine, materials and shelter.
The springs provided semi-permanent oases in the desert and supported trade and travel routes which evolved around them. The springs also played a key part in the spiritual and cultural beliefs of Aboriginal people. Ceremonies and other events were held at spring wetland areas which remain precious cultural and sacred sites. Numerous Creation stories feature a connection to groundwater.
This underground freshwater reservoir holds 65,000 million megalitres much of which fell as rain 1 to 2 million years ago, but not all of this water is in accessible layers.
For assessment purposes the GAB is divided into four regions – Carpentaria, Central Eromanga, Western Eromanga and the Surat Basin.
In 1878 the first bore was sunk to draw water from the Great Artesian Basin.
In modern Australia its economic values are shared by towns, agriculture, cattle & sheep grazing and industry/mining across the four basin regions.
The Courier map based on a 22 August 2016 report
The report points out that Water has historically been extracted from the GAB at a greater rate than recharge and this creates a problem for 21st Century Australia.
As the pressure in the GAB has declined and the water table drops, mound springs (where groundwater is pushed to the ground surface under pressure) have begun to dry up in South Australia and Queensland. Associated paperbark swamps and wetlands are also being lost and it gets more and more expensive to extract the groundwater for irrigation and other commercial applications.
On average, rates of groundwater extraction across Australia has increased by about 100 per cent between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, reflecting both the increased population size and commercial usage of groundwater stores.
Despite the strain on water resources, the gas and coal mining industries are allowed virtually unlimited water extraction from within the Great Artesian Basin and where the few limits are placed on extraction it is poorly policed by government agencies.
This is a graph of coal seam gas, conventional gas and petroleum industry water use 1995-2015:
Source:.DNRM 2016, p. 62.
The Adani Group’s most recent water licence for the Carmichael coal project issued in April 2017 allows it to take a virtually unlimited volume of groundwater each year for the next 60 years, plus surface water – with minimum oversight.
The Environmental Defender’s Office (Qld) states that: It is expected that Adani may require up to 9.5 billion litres of groundwater every year for the Carmichael project.
Poor management by Adani of its Abbot’s Point coal waste has already led to a smothering of the vibrant, nationally important Caley Wetlands with run-off via its estuarine system expected to reach adjacent waters of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
Satellite image of Caley Wetlands after emergency water release by Adani - now covered in coal waste.
A picture of the Abbot Point coal loading facility showing coal water run-off moving north-west into the wetlands and coal dust on the beaches. The Age, 12 April 2017, Photo: Dean Sewell
Coal dust on the beaches next to the Abbot Point coal loading facility Photo: Dean Sewell/Oculi
On 10 March 2015 ABC News reported:
Hundreds of square kilometres of prime agricultural land in southeast Queensland are at risk from a cocktail of toxic chemicals and explosive gases, according to a secret State Government report.
A study commissioned by Queensland's environment department says an experimental plant operated by mining company Linc Energy at Chinchilla, west of Brisbane, is to blame and has already caused "irreversible" damage to strategic cropping land.
The department, which has launched a $6.5 million criminal prosecution of the company, alleges Linc is responsible for "gross interference" to the health and wellbeing of former workers at the plant as well as "serious environmental harm".
The 335-page experts' report, obtained by the ABC, has been disclosed to Linc but not to landholders.
It says gases released by Linc's activities at its underground coal gasification plant at Hopeland have caused the permanent acidification of the soil near the site.
Experts also found concentrations of hydrogen in the soil at explosive levels and abnormal amounts of methane, which they say is being artificially generated underground, over a wide area.
The region is a fertile part of the Western Darling Downs and is used to grow wheat, barley and cotton and for cattle grazing, with some organic producers.
Other documents, released to the ABC by the magistrate in charge of the criminal case, show four departmental investigators were hospitalised with suspected gas poisoning during soil testing at the site in March.
"My nausea lasted for several hours. I was also informed by the treating doctor that my blood tests showed elevated carbon monoxide levels (above what was normal)," one of the investigators said.
High levels of cancer-causing benzene were detected at the site afterwards.
On 9 February 2017 ABC News was still reporting on the contamination:
Flammable levels of hydrogen have been found at a number of locations near the site of a controversial gas project that has been blamed for contaminating huge swathes of prime Queensland farm land.
The ABC understands an ongoing Environment Department investigation has confirmed that the contamination is much more widespread than previously thought.
The Queensland Government has dispatched Environment Department officers to the Hopeland community, near Chinchilla in the state's south, and is setting up a call centre to help explain the situation to landholders…..
Due to fears about possible hydrogen explosions, the Government has been enforcing a 314-square kilometre "excavation caution zone" around the Linc plant, with landholders banned from digging any hole deeper than two metres.
The ABC understands further investigation by the Environment Department has now found flammable levels of hydrogen at locations outside the current caution zone.
The hydrogen has been detected underground and the department says it dissipates quickly in the open air.
Government sources have stressed the gas is not of an explosive concentration but landholders will be encouraged to exercise caution.
Left unchecked the mining industry will bring the Great Artesian Basin closer to collapse.
It is not as if either federal or state governments ever fully realise the supposed financial gains allowing this environmental degradation was supposed to bring to their treasuries.
In 2007-08 the Australian Taxation Office released taxation data which showed that 68.8 per cent of all mining companies on its books paid no tax in that financial year. In 2009-10 the percentage of mining companies paying no tax had risen to 73.1 per cent and in in 2010-11 the percentage of mining companies paying no tax was 72.2 per cent. By 2013-14 a total of 60 per cent of publicly listed energy and resources companies did not pay tax and again in 2014-15 60 per cent of all energy and resources companies paid no tax.
Add to this the fact that Adani in Australia in estimated to have paid only 0.008 percent in tax on their total income in 2014-2015 and is structured in such a way that its tax burden is artificially lowered and a significant proportion of its profits move offshore to the Cayman Islands tax haven.
It isn’t hard to see a pattern developing here.
Maximum environmental, cultural, social and economic risk for Australia with minimal financial return on risk.
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