Christians are among more than 70 faith leaders from across the globe who have signed an open letter calling on Adani Group chairman, Gautam Adani, to “abandon” his plans for the Carmichael coal mine in Queensland.
The letter – which is signed by leaders including Thabo Makgoba, primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, Rev James Bhagwhan, general secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches, Bishop Philip Huggins, president of the National Council of Churches in Australia, and Bishop Nicholas Holtham, lead bishop on environment for the Church of England – says the burning of coal is a major source of pollution and that, with alternative technologies available, “[t]he ethical course of action is to abandon all plans for coal projects, and harness these alternatives to scale”.
Faith leaders take part in a protest at the Carmichael mine site in Queensland on 5th September. PICTURE: Olivia Rousset.
“We are most concerned about those who are most vulnerable, today’s younger generations, people living in areas more subject to cyclones, heat-waves, sea-level rise and drought,” the leaders say in the letter.
“Poverty exacerbates their vulnerability and are a special concern for people of faith. At some time, all of us will be inescapably subject to the realities of climate disruption. We are also concerned about the spiritual rights of the Indigenous people of the Galilee Basin, the Wangan and Jagalingou, who have been defending their homelands from the Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Project.”
The leaders note that a major goal of the company “is to lift people out of energy poverty in India”.
“Why not lead India into a bright, new future where people in energy poverty are provided with decentralised, cheaper, cleaner means of renewable energy generation?
Commending Adani for its renewable energy projects, they add, however, that “there is no ethical balance sheet where projects that are detrimental to the environment can be offset by other projects which are environmentally friendly”.
“The proposed Carmichael mine would in itself contribute to worsening climate crisis but, if it also leads to opening other mines in the Galilee Basin, the outcome would be catastrophic. We have only one earth, one common home. Please consider only projects which would benefit humanity. We urge you to abandon your plans in the Galilee Basin and pursue alternative plans, also profitable, for the generation of renewable energy.”
As well as church and church organisation representatives, others signatories include representatives of the Buddhist, Jewish, Jain, Sikh and Muslim faiths.
Creation of the letter was coordinated by the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change. Thea Ormerod, chair of the ARRCC, described the Carmichael coal mine as a “carbon bomb” and said it represented a “moral failure that will contribute hundreds of tonnes of carbon pollution into the atmosphere and put millions of lives at risk”.
“Walking away from the project is the only ethical course of action. It also happens to be financially sound,” she said.
