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Media Release

8 December 2022

Mackay Conservation Group has welcomed today’s announcement that Glencore has abandoned its Valeria coal mine proposal, a greenfield project near Capella in Central Queensland.

The mine would have produced 20 million tonnes of thermal and coking coal per year for 35 years. Up to 1.36 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide would have been added to the atmosphere by the mine.

According to media reports, Glencore has said its decision to withdraw the project from the assessment process “is consistent with Glencore’s commitment to a responsibly managed decline of our global coal business”.

Mackay Conservation Group coordinator, Peter McCallum, said “this is a positive outcome for all Australians. Our country is already being ravaged by the effects of climate change and this mine would have made the problem worse.”

MCG has long campaigned for more renewable energy in Queensland. We welcome the phase out of coal fired power by 2035 but there are concerns about the mega dams that will facilitate the plan. 

Last week a Swedish plant had delivered the world’s first shipment of fossil fuel free steel to the car maker Volvo. Coking (metallurgical) coal in the blast furnace was replaced by hydrogen produced with renewable energy. The Swedish company plans to start delivering commercial quantities of this green steel within five years.

Urannah Dam has been in the news a lot over the past year. Politicians have been talking up the proposal as a potential source of new water for agricultural land around Bowen. However, there are serious questions about whether farmers will ever see a drop of any water from this dam.

The Urannah Creek west of Eungella range is a beautiful place that has considerable environmental values. Its water flows into the Broken River and then into the Burdekin.It is home to the Irwin’s Turtle a unique species that was discovered in 1990 by Steve Irwin’s father Bob. 

In the same week that the Great Barrier Reef has been declared as in danger of losing its world heritage listing, environmentalists say there is nothing to celebrate in Adani uncovering coal at the Carmichael mine.

The Reef’s biggest threat is climate change, with three mass bleaching events occurring over the past five years.

Adani plans to eventually scale up its mine to dig 60 million tonnes of coal each year. That will add 4.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, 2 per cent of the carbon dioxide that can be emitted globally to have a better than even chance of keeping global heating below 1.5 degrees.

“This is not a moment for celebration. Future generations of Australians will be battling the serious impacts of climate change. They will look back on today as an abject failure of policy in the face of scientific evidence,” said Mackay Conservation Group campaigner, Sunny Hungerford.

“Where politicians have failed, the public is stepping up to the challenge. Across Australia and around the world people are putting pressure on investors in the Adani project.

“Any investor or contractor supporting Adani is supporting destruction of Wangan and Jagalingou land, Queensland's precious water resources, the Great Barrier Reef and endangered species such as the beautiful Black Throated Finch.

“More than 100 companies have withdrawn support for this project already. We will continue to pressure the remaining few corporations supporting Adani to pull out.

ENDS

Media Contact

Sunny Hungerford 0499 203 431

If there’s a single lesson for politicians from last week’s Victorian election it is that voters want political parties to develop rational policies and stand by them. Despite a major scare campaign around law and order, the ALP leader, Daniel Andrews, stuck to his reasoned platform and was rewarded with a hugely increased majority. He displayed leadership and authority over his party, maintaining a steady course all the way to polling day. With a federal election looming there must be more than a few MPs and candidates contemplating their future in the light of the Victorian result.

Mackay Conservation Group, which last week joined government scientists on a site visit to Adani’s Abbot Point facility where it was evident Adani had allowed coal to pollute the sensitive Caley Valley wetlands during Cyclone Debbie, say the wholesale breach of Adani’s pollution license shows the company cannot be trusted to operate in Australia

Coordinator of the Mackay Conservation Group, Mr Peter McCallum said, “Even with a license to pollute in its back pocket, Adani has still managed to exceed the permitted discharge of contaminants by 800 per cent. This is one more sign Adani’s mine should not proceed

“This breach isn't a minor one. It's equivalent to driver travelling at over 300km/h in a school zone

“Adani have been found to be operating a coal terminal in a cyclone-prone area that cannot withstand a cyclone without risk of contaminating the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and the Caley Valley Wetlands.