Press release – 7 November, 2017Bonn, November 7, 2017: The Australian government has been awarded the Climate Action Network-International’s (CAN) Fossil of the Day for its support of Adani Group’s plans to build a coal mine larger than the city of Paris and ship its coal out through the bleaching Great Barrier Reef.The dubious honour was awarded to the Australian government on the second day of the COP23 climate talks in Bonn, Germany, where world leaders are gathered to advance the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
“As bad neighbours go, Australia is the worst! Providing funding and approval for these mines (Adani isn’t the only one!) would put its already vulnerable neighbours at further risk. You should be striving to protect the Pacific Islands, Australia, not destroy them,” CAN said in a statement.
Pacific islander platform Pacific Island Represent presented the Fossil of the Day award and slammed
the Australian government, which has publically committed to the aims of the Paris Agreement while simultaneously lining up $1 billion of taxpayer money for the Carmichael mine and rail line, as well as lobbying other governments for overseas finance.
“For us in the Pacific this is a matter of survival. Australia can’t sign up to the Paris agreement and then give almost $1 billion to Adani to build the world’s biggest coal mine. It is putting short term profits ahead of the future of entire nations,” Pacific Island Represent activist Samu Kuridrani said.
“The age of fossil fuels is over. Australia must prove it is serious about limiting warming to 1.5 degrees if it wants to reduce the frequency and severity of natural disasters, from strengthening Pacific cyclones and sea level rise to extended bushfire seasons and bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef.”
Australia is the world’s largest coal exporter and is on track to become the world’s largest LNG exporter. Australia also supports Statoil’s plans to drill for deepwater oil in the Great Australian Bight, another risky venture that will lock in decades of emissions and make achieving the Paris goals much more difficult.
The Australian government is well-known for its climate denialism and continued support of coal, gas and oil expansion despite the overwhelming scientific consensus that we must phase out fossil fuels, and has also
scrapped renewable energy subsidies and abandoned its Clean Energy Target (CET).
“Australia’s hypocritical actions are destroying the environment inside its own borders and beyond. The Australian government cannot continue to do this and call itself a friend of the Pacific. These are not the actions of a friend,” Kuridrani said.
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