F~ to INDIA from The coal gamble

With India's clean-energy industry booming, does India need coal exports from Australia?

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Indian_g!ant Adani Gro up's p lans _ for the $16 billion Carm1chael Coal P roiect, the largest in Australia, has stirred up environmental groups in India and Australia

Founder of India's Conserva tion Action T rust, Debi Goenka recently travelled to Queensland to file legal objections to the approval of this coal m ine on behal f of the Indian communi ty. T h is is the frrst rim e that a case has bee n filed by an ovetseas party objecti ng to a coal mine in Australia

The Adani Group 's foray into Australia began in 2 0 10 with the purchase of the Carmichael Coal Niine in the Galilee B asin of Central Queensland and the port of Abbot Point in North Queensland. Th eit aim was to operate on a ver ticall y integrated model - the coal from the

''Instead of ln 201 1, [(ar n ataka state's Lokayuk ta, th e an ti - corruption ombud sman, investigated com plain ts of profiteering through illegal exports o f iron Ore It fou n d that "officials of Port Department, C11stoms, Police, K'>PCB, CRZ, 1\1i11cs, Local politicians and others are involved in receiving the bribe JJJ01U!)' fro111 M/ s Adrmi E nterprises'~ a n d Adani and other mini ng companies were ''fam1d to he active!J involved in large scale illegal expmts"

Adani bega n construction of the port ac Mundra in the lace 1990s, with commercial operations commencing in 2001 The Indian government asked the Centre of Science and Environment (CSE) to investigate complaints of environmental d egtadation in Mw1dra, and a 2013 report fou nd destruction supporting India in building its renewable energy capacity, Australia is trying to be its friend by palming off dirty fuel

Carmichael l\fioe would be transported by rail to Abbot Point, and then exported co India and other offshore markets.

Australian fed eral and state governments have both approved the GaWee Bas in project. At capacity, this mine will produce 60 million connes of steaming coal every ye ar, w ith a predicted lifespan of 60 to 90 years Mose of this coal is destined for India. Instead of supporting India in build ing i ts renewable energy capa city, Australia is trying to be its fr iend by palming off of m angroves, blocking of creeks an d tlisregard for local polluti on, among ocher environmental concerns Organisatio n s such as Greenpeace and GetU p bave been campaigning hard co bring su ch reports from Indi a to cl1e knowledge o f the public

''and financial institutions in Austra lia They have proved successful to so m e extent. Q ui t e a few financial i nstitutions have shied away from the project.

D eb i Goenk a has been working wi th GetUp in raising awareness of these issues He is sceptical abou t the financial viability of the project and says that it may well be a non-sta r ter. The Queensland government has approved the project, albeit with 190 myriad environmental condi tions, as it i s rel ying o n it to help rurn aroL111d its economy.

Goenka rues that destruction o f cl1e rurty fuel.

''A 2013 Centre

''The livelihood s and health of fisherme n , sal t pan ners and s mall far m ers in cl1e port of Mund ra, Gujarat, where the Adani coal is headed for, will environment has not been factored into chis eco n omic decision malcing "Do be ruin ed," says Goenka witb regard to why be bad to ta ke the legal ro u te co stem the inAtL'l of coal into India.

Adani claims t he h igh quality in1ported coal will b e. Ip to li ght the lives of 100 million Inruans Studies, however, s how the contrar y

Accord ing co the Insticu te for Energy Economi cs a n d Financi al Analysis i n Australia, India will not b e able to of Science and Environment report found destruction of mangroves, blocking of creeks and disregard for local pollution among other environmental concerns at the Adani port in Mundra they realise that many of the jobs will actually go co imported l abour from India? Thac ground water and rive rs in the area will be destroyed? Have they considered ,vhat will happen to cl1e wild life dependent on water? Or what w ill happen to the Great Barrier Reef? Or h ow their approval will affect the poo r in Gujarat?" Tbe legal case lodged pro bono by E nvironmental Ju stice Aus tralia o n behalf of Goenka, is expected to be h eard early n ext year. Th e Carmich ael pro ject is also slated to begin nexr year. afford the price o f imported coal and it would in fact double the price of electricity Other con seq uences would be inAation, cu rre n t acco unt defi ci ts and implic atio n s for Inrua 's ener gy security It i s ironic t hat w bile coal may meet the energy needs o f the r ich, it will be the poor, residing around the port,

''While on the one hand India is cl amouri ng for coaJ to meet i ts in creas ing e n e rgy needs, Goenka is c onvinced that India's ener gy need s cou ld best be served through renewable energy sources "An ybody chinkin g of investing in coal power is li vi ng in cl1e past," h e concludes

G20 endorses India's concerns on black money

The G20 Summit concluded with its leaders endorsing India's concerns over b lacl< money, while promising a new g lobal transparenc y sta ndard tbat will mod ernise international tax rules and allow automatic eJ(change o f related information between governments to cu r b the illici t outflow of money estimated at over one trillion dollars annually. India, being represented at the summit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, immediate ly called this development an unprecedented success, and said the next step will be d1e delivery of an action p lan, along with the Organisation of E conomic Cooperation and

Development (OECD).

The two forums represent 44 countries and 90 per cem of tbe wo rl d economy

"We are taking actions to ensure the fairness of the international cax system and to secure countrie s' revenue bases Profits should he taxed w h er e economic activities deriving the profits a re performed and where value is created ," the G20 leaders said in a jo int comrnuni9 ue at the end of tbe eighth summi t, promising to finalise w0rk b y the end of 2015.

This was precisely what Prime l\llinister Narendra Modi had specifically said and sought during a session on "Delivering Global Economic Resili ence" on the second day of the summit, while also wanting systems tbat w tU help countries in getting back the il.1-gotten monies stashed away abroad.

"At this Summi t, G20 Leaders have e n dorsed a new g lobal transparenc y standard tbat will Leave no place for ta." cheats to hide. Mo re than 90 jurisdictions will begin amomatic exchange of ta.x foforrnat:ion, nsing a common reporting sta ndard by 201 7 or 2018 ," said Australian P rime Minister Tony Abbott India has no official estin1ates of illegal money stas h ed away overseas, but the unofficial ones range from $466 b illion to $1 4 trillion.

In fact, according to Ind ian negotiators, such strong words on illicit mone y and Ltnposition of curbs in me commun ique would not have been possible without India's intervention, since the original draft did not contain a language chat ,vas satisfactory for India.

They said the Prime 11inister and his official team , led by his Sherpa, Rai lway M inis ter Suresh Prabhu, got strong en dorsements for New Dell1.i's stand, notably from Brazil and South Afri ca, to make this happen.

" India scores at G20," the external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akba.rnddin tweeted. He and 11.inister Prabhu even termed tbe o mcome " unpreceden ted success".

"The GO communiq u e add ressed concerns going beyond G20, developmental issues - employm ent, India's prime concern, was a central issues of discussion," Prabhu cold reporters at a post- summit briefing

The tax and related b lack mone y issue aside, several o ther issues which New Delhi pursued vigorously in Brisbane fotrnd support at the G20 Summit; reducing the cost of remittance s from abroad, of whi m lndia is the Largest beneficiary at S70 billion annually, collaborations on energy, infrastructure financing, i nclusive g rowth, job creation and energy security.

The communique also specifically welcomed the break t hrough between India and the United States at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and s aw iliis as paving the way for a pact that will help ease tbe processes involvedin global conm1erce, and move forward in addressing the concerns of developing countries o.n food security.

The G20 promised strong, practical measures to reduce the globa l average cost o f transferring remi ttances to 5 pet cent, which goes up sometimes as high as 10 percent.

The communique also promised to raise globa.l g rowth co deliver better living standards and 9uality jobs for people across the world to ensure fina n cial inclu sion It spec ifically sec a target of raising t he output of G20 members by around 2. 1 percent by 2018 and the necessari7 steps towards achieving th is

Prime Minister Modi al so made a strong p itch for energy security and finding alternative so lutions. "O ur P rime Minister mentioned that we shou.ld create a global centre for dealing witb renewable energy co find solutions and everydung It was ver y widely welcomed in cluding by chose who are not part of ilie G20 , like Jeffrey Sachs and others w ho have been saying that this i s an excellent idea that we have done," Prabhu said.

Indian interlocutors said another issue that has l)ecome a central theme for the G20, ilianks to India, is employment There was also some movement forward in raising the target of 2.5 percent jobs for women.

Similarly on infras tcncture, the G20 decided to establish a Global Infrastructure Hub within four years to emerge as a platform for sharing of knowledge, also for networking between governments, the priva t e sector and funding institutions.

Akbaruddin s umming up India's gains at the G20 , said: ''I f you go back to our initial briefing and see from iliere where we are tod ay, we have achieved substantially or overwhelmingly a.ll our goa.ls "