Fossils of the Day: Australia and Poland
8 November 2017
Both the Australian Queensland state and the federal government have given approval for the Adani mine in the Galilee Basin. The only thing missing for this devious plan to come into effect is funding. Not to worry, Adani has applied for nearly US$1 billion in handouts from the government-backed Northern Australian Infrastructure Fund and are also seeking funding from Chinese banks!
Our second Fossil of the Day goes to Poland for obstructing negotiations and trying to subsidize coal, rather than phasing it out.
The host of the next COP is trying to turn the EU’s flagship climate tool into the world’s largest coal subsidy scheme.
After months of difficult negotiations between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, the EU is expected to finalize the revision process and set the rules for the coming decade (2020-2030) at a meeting today. The provisions designed to help Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in the transformation of their energy systems remains a major sticking point in the negotiations.
Poland has been fighting against any measures that would exclude coal from these funds in the future and is also asking to further increase them. If Poland gets its way, the ETS funds for CEE countries will be worth up to EUR‚¬35 billion.
