BANKS REFUSE TO FUND ADANI COAL MINE

BRISBANE: All of Australia’s big four banks appear to have ruled out funding Adani’s Queensland coal project, after Westpac said it would not back opening up new coalmining regions.

Westpac, the country’s secondlargest bank, released a new climate policy on Friday, saying it would limit lending for new thermal coal projects to “only existing coal producing basins”.The coal mined must also have energy content “in at least the top 15% globally”, meaning at least 6,300 kilocalories per kg, according to the Westpac policy.

Adani is seeking a $1bn concessional loan from Commonwealth for its rail project linking the mine to its Abbot Point coal terminal. Adani’s Carmichael mine would be the first in the Galilee basin and the coal would have only 4,950 kilocalories per kg, the miner told the Queensland land court in 2014.Adani coalmine is at heightened risk of becoming a stranded asset, the report said.

Westpac has come under pressure from environmental groups and activist campaigns, including one that targeted its cash machines interrupted the bank’s 200th anniversary celebrations.

Adani’s final investment decision on Carmichael had been slated for June end. An Adani Australia spokesman said the firm had not approached Westpac for funding for the mine, rail or port expansion.

Adani previously received a $543-million loan facility in two deals with Westpac, alongside others from Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank, to acquire a 99-year lease on the Abbot Point terminal, according to the climate advocacy group Market Forces.