A group of Christians in Queensland have joined with other faith leaders in “challenging” a proposal for Queensland to assist Indian company Adani in developing the Carmichael coal mine “because of the effect the resulting carbon emissions will have on our climate, our economy, the world’s poor and the environment”.
In a statement, issued under the umbrella of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, the faith leaders said that with the threat of global warming “to the viability of our agricultural and tourism industries, our marine life, and the wildlife” in Queensland, “it seems unconscionable that any current or future Queensland government would make a development decision that puts all this at risk”.
“We believe that people of goodwill must work together to reduce greenhouse gas pollution at emergency speed,” they said in the statement addressed to the state’s Premier – Annastacia Palaszczuk – and Leader of the Opposition – Tim Nicholls – and released only days before the upcoming state election on Saturday. “Therefore, the development of the mine is unacceptable, as are all forms of government support, direct or indirect, for the mining, transport and shipping of fossil fuels.”
The leaders, who include Peter Arndt, executive officer of the Catholic Justice & Peace Commission of Brisbane, and Dean Peter Catt of St John’s Anglican Cathedral in Brisbane as well as representatives of the Quaker, Jewish and other religious communities, urge the government to invest in renewable energy technology and call for them to refuse approval of Northern Australia Infrastructure Funds to be used to build the railway line for the Adani mine.
“We plead with you and your government on behalf of our fellow Queenslanders and Australians, for the members of our faith groups, for the millions of vulnerable people on earth, for future generations who have no say of their own, and for all of creation,” they write.
Meanwhile, the ARRCC said that five of its members including a Uniting Church minister, were arrested today after blocking work on the rail line from Abbot Point to the Galilee Basin in protest against Adani’s proposed mine. All were released on summons and charged with contravening police directions and blocking a road.
ARRCC president, Thea Ormerod, said that stopping Adani’s coal mine “is a moral issue”.
“People around the world are already losing their lives and livelihoods, and species are going extinct because of the damage we are doing to the earth’s climate. Today we call on people of all faiths to join us in taking a stand for those already being impacted by climate change, for future generations and for the Great Barrier Reef.”
