No Chinese banking institution has made funding commitments to Adani for its dirty coal project
The Chinese embassy in Australia has confirmed that no Chinese banking institution has made funding commitments to Adani for its dirty Carmichael coal project and early negotiations with the one entity, understood to be the China Machinery Engineering Corporation, were terminated “due to the absence of commercial feasibility”.
The confirmation was given to outgoing Australian Conservation Foundation President, Geoff Cousins, who met recently with the embassy about Adani. The ambassador also conveyed this message to former Australian Foreign Minister and NSW Premier, Bob Carr.
Mr Carr spoke this week to Chinese political and financial leaders in Beijing and Shanghai and said he was confident there would be no finance from China for the Adani coal mine.
“This will make it difficult for Adani to finance its massive coal project,” Mr Carr said.
“I have explained to these Chinese institutions that this project is very unpopular with the Australian people.”
“Burning the coal from the Adani mine will create an enormous amount of climate pollution that will pose a major threat to the Great Barrier Reef.”
“Moreover, the Adani coal mine has already been rejected by over 26 global financial institutions, including the four major Australian banks, and the likely returned Palaszczuk Government in Queensland has vowed to veto any funding from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.”
Mr Cousins said the embassy provided a strong message that no Chinese banking institution had made any financing commitment to the project.
“Adani’s polluting coal mine has been rejected by the Australian community. It has been rejected by the banks. And in a show of leadership it has been sensibly rejected by China,” Mr Cousins said.
