The Role of Public Protests in Shaping Energy Policy Decisions

The proposed Carmichael Coal Mine by Adani has sparked significant debate within Australia, pitting economic development against environmental preservation. This project is poised to create jobs and boost Queensland's economy but faces fierce opposition due to potential environmental degradation, particularly concerning the Great Barrier Reef and local ecosystems. Public protests have been widespread, reflecting a broader concern over fossil fuel dependency amidst global shifts towards renewable energy sources. Stakeholders, including indigenous communities, environmentalists, and policymakers, offer diverse perspectives on the mine's viability and its alignment with Australia’s future energy policies. This paper examines these multifaceted issues to provide an in-depth understanding of the sociopolitical landscape influenced by Adani’s mining ambitions.

Running head: SUSTAINABILITY
Critical perspective towards “Stop Adani coal mine Campaign
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Executive Summary
Strategic approach is necessary for companies and organizations in terms of systematizing the
business activities. This systematization makes the personnel aware of the priorities of the
activities. Mere development of the strategies does not serve the purpose. Implementation of the
strategies exposes the personnel to the actual impact of the strategies on the stakeholders and
shareholders. All these aspects seem true even for Adani Group. The proposition towards
Carmichael project forms the main plot of the assignment. However, protests regarding the
harmful impacts of the Adani coalmine are more intensified in terms of creating a mass appeal to
the public in terms of preserving the biodiversity. Alliance of the Australians with the
environmentalists, politicians for protests is illegal; however, this alliance reflects the urge
towards conserving the natural resources for themselves as well as the future generation. This
perception can be correlated with the true essence of sustainability, the subject matter of the
assignment. The protests have weakened the Group financially. Evaluation of proposed strategy
is crucial in terms of stabilizing the financial parameter. This evaluation would help the group to
contribute towards economic development of the country.

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Table of contents
Background to the issue...................................................................................................................3
Problems addressed by Adani coal mine.....................................................................................3
Objectives of Stop the Adani coal mine..........................................................................................4
Credibility of Stop the Adani coal mine as an activist....................................................................5
Analyzing the policy environment...................................................................................................6
Power holder mappings...............................................................................................................6
Developing strategy.........................................................................................................................8
Implementing plans.......................................................................................................................11
Critical discussion of the campaign outcomes...............................................................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................15
References and bibliography.........................................................................................................16
Appendices....................................................................................................................................19

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Background to the issue
Problems addressed by Adani coal mine
As a matter of specification, coal mining, its transport and burning is harmful for the
people. In view of this statement, Business Standard asserts that one of the major issues created
by Adani coal mine is the environmental degradation. Protestors are of the opinion that
Carmichael coalmine would have been India’s largest coal mine if Adani coal mine have not
created huge environmental and financial issues (Stopadani.com 2018). The statement of the
protestors indicates the issue of global warming, which damaged The Great Barrier Reef.
According to The Economic Times, 16.5 billion dollars went in vain as Carmichael coalmine
project could not be worked upon. The newspaper highlights the opposition of the Protestants in
terms of opposing the creation of Adani coalmine. As a matter of specification, the newspaper
upholds the concern of Kelly O’ Shanassy, the CEO of Australian conservation Foundation
regarding “destruction of every single living thing on the planet Earth”
(Economictimes.indiatimes.com 2018).
The movement Stop Adani coalmine also gave rise to issues such as interplay with the
tax obligations in the offshore areas; claims regarding inflating the employments and most
importantly corruption. These issues destroyed the close knit unity among the communities,
snatching away their basic rights regarding the utilization of the natural resources- lands and
waters. Along with this, absence of permission from the local government and the tribes makes
Adani coalmine illegal. This aspect highlights the issue of illegal constructions through intrusion
into the land of others (Stopadani.com 2018).

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Apart from this, the movement has extracted most of the waters from the Great Artesian
and the adjacent basins, depriving the farmers from the groundwater needed for the irrigational
activities.
Objectives of Stop the Adani coal mine
If Adani coalmine is created, every living forms of Australia would be ruined. This
ruinage would pollute Australia, making it difficult for the inhabitants to breathe fresh air.
Therefore, objectives and goals need to be developed for the achievement of positive outcomes
in this direction. Mere setting of the goals would not be enough. A strategic framework needs to
be created by the activists in terms of making the people aware of the intensity of the harm
created by the campaign, Adani coalmine (Stopadani.com 2018).
The main objectives to stop the creation of Adani coalmine can be the following:
 To use environment friendly materials for the development of transport
 To indulge in meetings with the stakeholders regarding the revision in the tax tariffs
 To indulge in meetings with the members of the trade union for dealing with economic
instabilities like inflation
 To develop directives for regulating the wastes generated from places like Great Barrier
Reef
 To take permission from the local government and the tribes regarding the creation of
coalmines
 To seek out measures for conserving waters of Great Artesian and other adjacent basins
 To make plans regarding introducing bills for restoring the rights of the natives regarding
the utilization of the lands, water bodies among others.

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Credibility of Stop the Adani coal mine as an activist
Uploading the actions undertaken by the activities on the social media makes the
resolutions credible to the public domain. Requesting the people to join the movement can be
considered as a collaborative attempt in terms of ceasing the creation of the Adani coalmine.
Informing the public domain about specific initiatives of the activities enhances the credibility of
the Campaign. These aspects align with the statements of The Wire, where the opposition of
environmentalists, activists and politicians have been upheld (Thewire.in 2018). Uploading the
newspaper clippings on the social media have created a mass appeal upon the youth of
Queensland, urging them to make noticeable contributions in stopping the Adani coalmine for
taking shape.
Presentation of the activists’ action in a thrilling manner to the public generates spine
chilling feeling among them. Typical example of this is the narration about the massive
bleaching of Great Barrier Reef during the presence of Annastica Palaszczuk. The Wire becomes
a mouthpiece for reporting the callousness of Palaszczuk in terms of requesting Adani to destroy
the Reef. This enraged the activists such as Geoffrey cousins, to revolt against the rising sea
temperatures leading to environmental degradation (Business-standard.com 2018). The
misleading claims of the media regarding the letter sent to Adani contradict the aspect of
credibility. As a matter of specification, these claims aggravate the intensity of conflicts and
discrimination between Adani and the natives of Queensland.

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Analyzing the policy environment
Power holder mappings
Adani mining is a subsidiary of the Adani Group, which has its headquarters in the
threshold of India. This Adani mining proposed Carmichael coalmine to be constructed in the
north of Galilee Basin in central Queensland. The investments made for this project is 16.5
billion dollars. Queensland government, in collaboration with the Australian Government made
important contributions in the project. Delving deep into the power holding, this collaboration
was against the G20 commitment to rule out poor quality fossil fuel subsidies. The budget is an
evidence of the alliance between the Queensland government and mining industry through the
expense of $9.5 billion between the era of 2008-2014 (Economictimes.indiatimes.com 2018).
Constraints in the budget reflect the expenses between the mining industries and the other areas
such as hospitals and the schools, which are situated in the areas adjacent to the place where the
mine is proposed to be constructed. This aspect indicates indulgence of Adani and his team with
the administrative of the local schools and hospitals.
Newman Queensland government is also to be counted among the power holders of
Adani Group. Initially, the government claimed to oppose the Carmichael project. However, in
the era of 2014, Newman Queensland government reduced the royalty rates for the project and
proposed to share the investments (Business-standard.com 2018). In response to this, the Labor
Opposition criticized the attempts as “blank cheque”. This aggravated the financial instabilities
for the Adani group and destroyed the stability in the relationship between the Adani Group and
the Labor Opposition Party.

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Consideration of all of the above partnerships and alliances, the following held powers
towards the formation of the Adani coalmine:
 Queensland government
 New Queensland government
 Labor Opposition Party
 Local schools and hospitals
 Activists, environmentalists and politicians
Queensland government holds the supreme power in this case. This is because Adani group
needs to take permission from the government officials for creation of the coalmine. As a
sequential step, Adani group personnel are expected to send drafts regarding the proposed
budget, impact, results of the coalmine along with the place where the coalmine would be
established (Radio.abc.net.au 2018). Next in power is the local tribe, whose consent plays a
significant role in the creation of the coalmine. Misleading claims of Adani regarding the consent
of the local tribes is a distortion in the hierarchy of power holders.
New Queensland government and the Labor Opposition Party can be considered as the
external shareholders for Adani group in terms of the creation of Adani coalmine. These external
shareholders stabilized the financial parameter of the Adani group.
Activists and environmentalists are also the power holders of Adani group in terms of
protesting against the harmful effects of the coalmine towards the ecological biodiversity. Their
personality is enhanced through the creation of mass appeal for preservation of the environment
from degrading (Bloomberg.com 2018).

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Developing strategy
Strategic approach played a major role for the activists in terms of stopping Adani
coalmine from taking birth. The activists took the help of the public domain for systematizing the
activities related to protests. Typical evidence of this lies in the publications of The Indian
Express. According to the reports of The Indian Express, thousands of protestors rallied on the
streets of Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Gold coast and Port Doughlas. Placards were prepared
for making the people aware of the reasons behind the campaign. Another example of the
strategic approach was the formation of STOP ADANI on the sand by the protestants
(Indianexpress.com 2018). These actions of protest ignited a spark of critique in the minds of the
Opposition parties. Therefore, the next strategy was to tackle the harsh blows of the critics.
The Indian Express projected the statements of campaigner Isaac Astill, who perceived
the campaigned as an “international issue”. This internalization can be affirmed due to the rages
of the public in terms of their urge to protect the environment. Herein lays the appropriateness of
the protestants, holding placards saying coal=CO2!!!. The three exclamation marks reflects the
concern of the Australian inhabitants in terms of the degrading condition of the environment as
well as the living forms.
Governmental support was one of the greatest strengths for the activists in terms of
exposing a strategic approach towards stopping Adani coalmine from taking shape
(Indianexpress.com 2018). The major drive behind this is enhancing the economic growth of the
country. The environmentalist groups indulged in alliance with the activists for exposing their
disinterest towards Adani coalmine. In view of the aggravating intensity of the protests, 13
environmental organizations extended their helping hand towards Adani in their struggle for
saving the environment from degradation. This was a fresh start for the Adani Group in terms of

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tackling the critics and oppositions strategically, as the critics launched a program entitled “Stop
Adani Alliance. Typical evidence of this lies in the revelations of the webpage, Bloomberg.
Spearheading attitude of the leader Bob Brown compelled the personnel of Adani group
to re-structure their thinking strategy towards stopping the creation of Adani coalmine. Lack of
prior preparation imposed the harsh blows of oppositions on the Adani group (Indianexpress.com
2018). This compelled the government to withdrew supports extended in terms of the benefitting
the human good. As a sequential step, the Adani Group indulged in meetings and conferences
with the environmentalists, activists, environmentalists and the government officials. The main
purpose of this meeting was revision on the rationale behind the creation of the Adani coalmine
along with the assessment of its impact on the adjacent areas and the environment as a whole.
The below diagram was created in the meeting.
Figure 1: Intensity of destruction estimated in response to Adani coalmine
(Source: Stopadani.com 2018)

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This picture was sent to the government for their approvals regarding the introduction of
conservationist programs. Seeing the intensity of the harmful impact on the environment, the
government officials created mass appeals through the social media campaigning. Herein lays
the appropriateness of the campaign entitled #STOP ADANI COAL MINE. The next step was
updating the outcomes of the campaign on the social media and newspapers for making the
public aware of the steps taken towards preservation of the environment (Stopadani.com 2018).
Based on the steps taken by the Adani Group, environmentalists and politicians, the
following hart can be prepared:
Figure 2: Strategic mapping for stopping the creation of coalmine
Protests regarding this proposed strategic mapping compelled the environmental activists,
politicians and government officials to alter their thoughts and ideas towards the project of Adani
Proposing the creation of Adani coal mine
Informing the public about the benefits of Adani coal mine
Uploading the proposal of Adani coal mine on social media
Preparing for handling the responses of the public
Meetings with the stakeholders and shareholders for evaluating the effectiveness, appropriateness and
feasibility of the proposedactivities

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coalmine. Lack of prior preparation aggravated the difficulties for the personnel in terms of
handling the protests and revolts.
Implementing plans
The main aim for developing strategy is to achieve positive results in the business
activities. Oriental approach is needed in terms of implementing the proposed strategies. These
aspects are also applicable for Adani Group in terms of stopping the creation of the coalmine.
The Group personnel indulged in meeting with the stakeholders and shareholders for making
effective plans regarding implementation of the proposed strategies. The nature of these
meetings was interactive, which provided a platform to the concerned parties regarding voicing
out their opinions regarding the protests about the creation of the coalmine
(Thehindubusinessline.com 2018).
The Environment Minister was consulted for gaining the approval regarding the creation
of the coalmine. This was according to the standards and protocols of the Environmental
Protection and Biodiversity conservation Act (1991). This approval was challenged by the
Mackay Conservation Group in terms of the legality of the proposal regarding the creation of the
Adani coalmine. The parties concerned requested the Federal court to give second preference to
the approval. This was in terms of approving the conservation plans for the endangered species.
Negligence towards conserving the species compelled the personnel to encounter negative
outcomes in terms of claims and oppositions on the social media (Stopadani.com 2018). Federal
government and the environment minister collaborated upon re-approving the Carmichael mine.
Even in this, the critics and oppositions were in full form.