Adani claims its export program helps contribute to sustainable energy – but experts say that’s ‘wilful disinformation’
An Adani claim that its Australian export program, whereby coal is sent through the Great Barrier Reef’s shipping channels, is advancing the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, has been denounced by leading scientists.Adani’s Queensland export site claims its operations “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”, which is one of the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals.Australia, along with other UN members, adopted the goals in 2015, designed to address global challenges including poverty, justice, environmental degradation and climate change.The relevant UN goal is chiefly concerned with providing affordable and clean energy, which it says requires a substantial increase in renewable energy.Adani’s North Queensland Export Terminal (NQXT) near Bowen has the capacity to export 50m tonnes of coal a year.
In its latest sustainability report, NQXT says it supports the UN goal by “enabling the export of high-quality Australian coal to the world”.One of Australia’s leading experts on the development goals, Prof John Thwaites, said the word “sustainable” in the UN goal was key.“I would argue that to ‘support the advancement of the sustainable development goals’, energy and port operations need to support sustainable energy,” said Thwaites, the chair of the Monash Sustainable Development Institute.“Simply exporting coal is not achieving or supporting the sustainability objective of the goals.”Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletterHe said there were also numerous references in the UN goals for the need to take action on climate change, and that “simply exporting coal which will be burned and produce greenhouse gas emissions overseas” is not supportive of this.
Another leading expert on the UN agenda, Dr Cameron Allen, said the intention of the energy development goal was to “focus on sustainable energy and clean energy and I don’t think fossil fuels or coal falls into that”,“I don’t think anyone would agree that it’s in line with the aims of that goal,” said Allen, from Monash University,“Exporting coal isn’t in line with the sentiment … or the language of the goal, which includes the word sustainable,The international climate change agreements also make it clear that burning fossil fuels is not sustainable,”Guardian Australia has been scrutinising various claims made by Adani after finding that its Carmichael coal operation has paid zero corporate tax in more than three years of operation, and may never do so.
The Indian conglomerate had pledged to plough billions of dollars into the Australian economy through taxes and royalties when it was going through the contested approvals process to establish an open-cut coalmine in the Galilee Basin.In response to questions about how its operations advance the UN sustainability goals, a spokesperson for Adani’s Australian mining business, which is branded Bravus Mining and Resources, said coal exports helped combat poverty.Sign up to Clear Air AustraliaAdam Morton brings you incisive analysis about the politics and impact of the climate crisisafter newsletter promotion“Developing nations in the Asia Pacific region use coal from the Carmichael mine alongside renewables to provide reliable and affordable energy solutions that help reduce poverty and power growth,” the Bravus spokesperson said.Adani’s port facility website also says its operations align with a UN goal to protect terrestrial ecosystems by managing its water on-site next to neighbouring wetlands.Traditional owners have raised concerns over the threat posed by the coal operations to the nearby Caley Valley, in claims rejected by Adani.
In 2017 and 2019, flood waters were released from the port into the wetland.In the 2017 incident, the Queensland government later found the water that turned areas of the wetlands black from coal dust had not caused a widespread impact.Adani’s Carmichael mine, rail and port operation is among the most politically divisive projects in Australia, given it has opened up new fossil fuel reserves in a sensitive location at a time the country has pledged to transition to renewables.Claire Snyder, director of watchdog group Climate Integrity, said the NQXT claim amounted to aggressive greenwashing.“Framing coal exports as a contribution to sustainable development undermines global climate goals, misleads the public, and uses the authority of the UN to legitimise ongoing harm,” Snyder said.
“Given what we know about coal’s role in driving climate breakdown, this is wilful disinformation and meaningless sustainability waffle to protect the social licence of coal,”
Trump threatens drug giants with crackdown over prices
Donald Trump has threatened to use “every tool in our arsenal” to crack down on pharmaceutical giants if they fail to cut drug prices for Americans within 60 days.The president wrote to executives at 17 companies on Thursday, demanding they match their US prices for prescription drugs with the lowest price offered in other developed nations.Current prices were an “unacceptable burden” on US families, Trump said, claiming they could be up to three times higher than in other countries.After returning to the White House earlier this year and pledging to bring down drug prices, the president claimed that “most proposals” from the pharmaceutical industry amounted to “more of the same”, accusing firms of seeking to shift blame and requesting policies that would pave the way for handouts worths billions of dollars for the sector.“Make no mistake: a collaborative effort towards achieving global pricing parity would be the most effective path for companies, the government, and American patients,” Trump wrote
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Apple quietens Wall Street’s fears of China struggles and slow AI progress
Apple has been under pressure this year. It’s playing catch-up to its fellow tech giants on artificial intelligence, it’s seen its stock fall by double digits since the year began, it closed a store in China for the first time ever this week, and looming US tariffs on Beijing threaten its supply chain. On Thursday, the company released its third-quarter earnings of the fiscal year as investors scrutinize how the iPhone maker might turn things around.Despite the gloomy outlook, the company is still worth more than $3tn, and it beat Wall Street’s expectations for profit and revenue this quarter. Apple reported a massive 10% year-over-year increase in revenue to $94
Amazon fails to quiet tariff worries with worse-than-expected financial outlook
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Joe Burgess scores four tries as Hull KR’s demolition of Salford raises big questions
This was anything but the kind of advert Super League clubs who voted to expand the competition to 14 teams in 2026 would have hoped for.This may well be the last time we see Salford versus Hull KR as a Super League fixture for some time. There is a growing feeling that, even with two more teams joining the elite next year, Salford’s position is increasingly untenable as they remain riddled by financial problems.Having been forced to request an advance on their central distribution on the eve of the season, a takeover in February was hoped to be the cure for their long-term ills. But 20 rounds into the season, Salford remain under salary-cap constraints, have had to sell players to make ends meet and are still in deep financial trouble
LeBron James, Nikola Jokić reportedly meet over $5bn upstart to rival NBA
A high-profile meeting last week in France between LeBron James, his business partner Maverick Carter and Nikola Jokić’s agent Miško Ražnatović was about plans for a new $5bn international basketball league, according to a report by Front Office Sports, which cited multiple sources familiar with the matter.The proposed league, spearheaded by Carter, would feature six men’s and six women’s teams that travel together to eight global cities in a touring format. Inspired by LIV Golf and Formula One, the league aims to offer players equity stakes, something NBA rules currently prohibit for active athletes.Ražnatović, a powerful figure in European basketball, posted a photo of the meeting on Instagram over the weekend. The caption, tagged in Saint-Tropez, teased: “The summer of 2025 is the perfect time to make big plans for the fall of 2026
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