Is this a form of blackmail?
German multinational Siemens has signed on to work for Adani's Queensland coal mine in spite of a warning from Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale that it risked damaging its global reputation over a "dangerous project".
Key points:
- Senator Di Natale wrote to the head of Siemens urging him to ditch the Adani deal
- Siemens has proceeded with the deal earlier than expected
- Resources Minister Matt Canavan is "not too worried" about the Greens leader's letter
Adani announced on Wednesday that Siemens had signed a deal to provide signalling for Adani's rail network to haul coal from the Carmichael mine.
Senator Di Natale wrote to Siemens boss Joe Kaeser in Munich on Tuesday, urging him to walk away from a "carbon bomb that the world cannot afford".
The Greens leader told Mr Kaeser in the letter that given Siemens' "great work on clean energy technologies" and its collaborations with Australian universities it was "crucial that Siemens' reputation stays in good health".
"There is a very real chance of reputational damage amongst the university sector, as well as across Australian and global operations generally as a result of Siemens profiting from the Adani mine," Senator Di Natale wrote.
"On behalf of millions of Australians, I urge you to not proceed with this contract and at least pause before signing on the 13th December, so that the board can properly consider the implications for Siemens, should this project proceed."
Instead, Siemens has proceeded with the deal two days earlier than expected.
Senator Di Natale said in the letter that Australia's east coast was "inundated with mega fires of which we have never seen the likes before" and "our most populated city, Sydney [being] covered in smoke and ash for days with air quality 11 times above hazardous levels".
"This is all occurring at just one degree of warming. The International Energy Agency has said not one coal, oil or gas production facility can go ahead if we want to stay below 1.5 degrees (Celsius) of warming," Senator Di Natale wrote.
"In order to stay below 1.5 degrees of warming, or to have any hope of not exceeding 2 degrees, this massive coal mine simply cannot go ahead."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-11/greens-di-natale-warns-siemens-over-adani-deal/11789684
