German engineering giant Siemens will honor a controversial contract to supply signalling systems to Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in Australia, despite being under fire for the project’s alleged climate implications.
“We have just finished our
special meeting … We have evaluated all the options and have concluded that
we must fulfil our contractual obligations,” chief executive, Joe Kaeser, tweeted
late on Sunday.
He also vowed that Siemens, which supports the Paris climate agreement to curb carbon emissions, would create a body to better “manage in the future the questions of protecting the environment.”
The decision on the contract,
reportedly worth 20 million euros ($22m), comes as Australia is dealing with an
unprecedented fire crisis that has claimed at least 27 lives, destroyed more
than 2,000 homes, burnt millions of hectares of unique habitat and killed
more than a billion animals.
“Siemens’ announcement that it will continue working on Adani’s coal mine while bushfires rage in Australia is nothing short of shameful,” environmental lobby group Australian Conservation Foundation said in a statement. “The company has shown its true colours with this decision. It has a climate change policy, but it is hollow and empty.”
Carmichael coal project, which has been scaled down since it was first announced, was approved by the government of Queensland in June 2019.
Kaeser met last week with German
activist Luisa Neubauer, offering the 23-year-old a seat on the supervisory
board of Siemens Energy, which she turned down. Siemens Energy creates gas
turbines and wind turbines, while the Adani contract will be supplied by
Siemens Mobility, a different division.
The executive noted there were competitors to the railway signalling contract the company signed in December, which meant “whether or not Siemens provides the signalling, the project will still go ahead”.
Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg, said last week that Siemens had “the power to stop, delay or at least interrupt the building of the huge Adani coalmine in Australia” and people should push the company “to make the only right decision”.
The controversial project, which
has been scaled down since it was first announced, was approved by the state
government in June 2019 after a near decade-long struggle with
regulators and environmental protesters.
Carmichael has battled a string of
lawsuits from environmental groups and scientists, who argue it will contribute
to global warming and damage Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
According to official estimations,
Carmichael will contribute $2.97 billion each year to Queensland’s economy and
will create 1,500 direct and 6,750 indirect jobs during ramp up and
construction.
Thermal coal is one of the largest
sources of greenhouse gas emissions. If burnt, output from Carmichael would
release 700m tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year for more
than 50 years.
Another six coal projects in the
Galilee are awaiting approval and are seen following Carmichael if Adani builds
infrastructure to connect it to the state’s rail network.
Australia, the world’s biggest
exporter of coal, continues to be engulfed in flames with the worst
wildfires seen in decades and large swathes of the country devastated.
Climate scientists and environmentalist
have pointed to higher weather patterns and emissions as factors making natural
disasters go from bad to worse.