"Meaningless Sustainability Waffle" - What Happens When You Claim Coal Exports To Poor Countries Help The Environment
An Adani claim that its Australian export program, whereby coal is sent through the Great Barrier Reef’s shipping channels, is advancing the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, has been denounced by leading scientists. Adani’s Queensland export site claims its operations “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”, which is one of the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals.
Australia, along with other UN members, adopted the goals in 2015, designed to address global challenges including poverty, justice, environmental degradation and climate change. The relevant UN goal is chiefly concerned with providing affordable and clean energy, which it says requires a substantial increase in renewable energy. Adani’s North Queensland Export Terminal (NQXT) near Bowen has the capacity to export 50m tonnes of coal a year. In its latest sustainability report, NQXT says it supports the UN goal by “enabling the export of high-quality Australian coal to the world”.
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Guardian Australia has been scrutinising various claims made by Adani after finding that its Carmichael coal operation has paid zero corporate tax in more than three years of operation, and may never do so. The Indian conglomerate had pledged to plough billions of dollars into the Australian economy through taxes and royalties when it was going through the contested approvals process to establish an open-cut coalmine in the Galilee Basin.
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Claire Snyder, director of watchdog group Climate Integrity, said the NQXT claim amounted to aggressive greenwashing. “Framing coal exports as a contribution to sustainable development undermines global climate goals, misleads the public, and uses the authority of the UN to legitimise ongoing harm,” Snyder said. “Given what we know about coal’s role in driving climate breakdown, this is wilful disinformation and meaningless sustainability waffle to protect the social licence of coal.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jul/31/adani-claims-its-export-program-helps-contribute-to-sustainable-energy-but-experts-say-thats-wilful-disinformation-ntwnfb