I swore off big yellow grader posts a while back, but I can’t resist. Adani’s head of communications, Kate Campbell, has a piece in the Mackay Mercury (paywalled, but I found it on PressReader) getting stuck into the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
The article is full of attacks on IEEFAs ties to the Rockefeller Family Foundation and similar lefty groups. But what struck me was the photo, which was supposed to show that Adani had indeed started work.
Readers with long memories will recall that this same picture was posted back in January.
Rather than bagging out IEEFA, perhaps Ms Campbell could organize some new publicity shots, showing how Adani Australia is spending the $2 billion it has supposedly received from its parent company.
In related news, Axis Capital has withdrawn a bid to insure the Carmichael rail line. That’s interesting as another step towards decarbonizing finance, but even more so because Adani has been insisting since last year that it has insurance in place.
With the price of thermal coal falling steadily, this project makes less economic sense than ever (it’s always been an environmental disaster). It remains to be seen whether Adani will go ahead on his own, or whether one of the governments his cronies control will tip in more public money
John Quiggin 
So it’s a lie.
Whatever it takes.
Even the Drum is now almost wholly reserved for rightist propaganda.
Two things from last week: the simple DB lad robbed of $14,000 on ROBO debt and
the NSW government about to pass legislation removing environmental concerns from planning approvals processes.
Also. the mystifying blather concerning Thunberg for denialist aging asshat megaphones world wide.
Sorry, should read “from” not “for”, last para,
Environmental disaster endorsed by our government /s;
“Environmental flow limits to global groundwater pumping
“Here we link declines in the levels of groundwater that result from groundwater pumping to decreases in streamflow globally, and estimate where and when environmentally critical streamflows—which are required to maintain healthy ecosystems—will no longer be sustained. We estimate that, by 2050, environmental flow limits will be reached for approximately 42 to 79 per cent of the watersheds in which there is groundwater pumping worldwide, and that this will generally occur before substantial losses in groundwater storage are experienced.”
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1594-4?error=cookies_not_supported&code=664bdd0d-4db9-4bd8-a31d-20deaea144b5
“With the price of thermal coal falling steadily, this project makes less economic sense than ever“
But the IEFFA paper that Adani objects to in the linked newspaper article says
“Adani can obviously ignore this reality [renewables are getting cheaper] and use thermal coal from the Carmichael mine to supply expensive fuel to its in-house Mundra, Udupi and potentially Godda import coal-fired power plants in India, leveraging their unique position of being able to negotiate and then re-negotiate fuel price pass through terms in their various import coal-fired power plants’ electricity supply contracts with the Indian and Bangladesh governments.”
In other words, at least according to the IEFFA, because of its unique position as a coal miner and politically influential electricity producer in India and Bangladesh Adani can choose the price of electricity it sells so as to make the whole operation profitable.
Yes, Smith9, Adani has always operated on the basis that the world price of coal is irrelevant to them because they can use their “friendly” relations with the Gujarati and Indian governments to sell the coal to their own power plants at the price of their choosing. This is why I have disagreed with John about the financial viability of Carmichael; it is viable at the expense of both the planet and of Indian electricity consumers.
Though I understand that Adani have also become “friendly” with the even more corrupt Bangladeshi government. See this NYT article.
Expense of the planet. Ho ho. Science not your strong suit hey champ.
Obviously without the cosy deals the project would have been abandoned long ago. But they don’t completely immunise Adani from market reality. For example, although the Bangladesh deal is high priced, it’s not (AFAICT) cost plus. That means Adani loses money using expensive Carmichael coal instead of cheaper alternatives.
So the political scenario is that Adani falls over and the LNP blame the State and Federal ALP for its demise? Would this work or would the Federal Government at least have to make a show of support e.g. offering a couple of hundred million if the State will match?
It would be such a huge symbolic win for the green left if Adani falls over that I can’t see it happening without some kind of push back.
“ the Bangladesh deal is high priced, it’s not (AFAICT) cost plus. That means Adani loses money using expensive Carmichael coal instead of cheaper alternatives”
How does it follow that if the price is not set by a cost plus formula, the deal must be losing money? If the price is high enough, which ever way it is set, the deal will make money.