The ongoing fire disaster in Australia has triggered public opposition to some local enterprise projects. Siemens Germany's coal project in Australia was questioned and protested by environmental organizations and the public on the 13th, and the company's executives said they would continue to perform the contract.

Siemens chief executive Kaisa said in a statement that he would continue to fulfill an Australian coal contract criticized by environmentalists. It is reported that Siemens will sell railway signaling equipment to Adani company of India, which is mining in Australia, which will be installed on the coal transportation railway connecting the Carmel coal mine and the port for hundreds of kilometers.

Through the railway line, Adani will deliver 60 million tons of coal a year to India for power plants. The contract will bring Siemens 18 million euros.

After the Australian coal project made Siemens the target of criticism, Siemens said it would learn from the lessons in the future and pay more attention to environmental issues. Kaisa said that for projects similar to Australian coal mines, Siemens' internal sustainable development committee will have veto power in the future.

Kaisa also pointed out that the coal mining project in Australia has not only been approved by Australian voters and the government, but also supported by the Supreme Court of Australia and the indigenous people. "Succumbing to the pressure of anti coal project protesters would be an insult to Australian workers and the demand for coal in India," Kaiser quoted an Australian official as saying in a letter

It is understood that Australia's coal exports account for about one third of the world's total exports, and the coal industry is an important source of government revenue.

Severe forest fire disasters in many areas of Australia have lasted for several months. High temperature and drought have been the main causes of wildfires since Australia entered the forest fire season in July 2019, Australian officials said. From the most developed and densely populated coastal areas in the southeast of new and Victoria, to Tasmania, Western Australia and the northern region, almost every state has forest fires.

Wildfires have a great impact on people's lives. Forest fires cause serious air pollution. The air quality data of Sydney, Canberra and other cities exceeded the official "danger" level by more than ten times at the worst. People were forced to reduce outdoor activities and sold out masks.

Analysts said that the root cause of the fire was the poor response of the business community to climate change and the failure to effectively support the business model of low-carbon emission reduction. Siemens' efforts to develop coal mines dissatisfied environmental organizations.

In the face of public doubts about the government's efforts to reduce emissions, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison once believed that Australia's emission reduction policy was in the leading position in the world, enough to reduce the risk of fire, and there was no need to take more radical measures. Increasing emission reduction is not conducive to Australia's economic development, especially the export of coal and natural gas.

At present, most of the coal mines in the EU have been closed, exploring the change of energy structure to the low-carbon mode, but this does not prevent the EU coal service companies from continuing to develop their business in the overseas market.

Source: China Environmental News