Wielding a chunk of coal, Scott Morrison told us not to be afraid. Now his government is shipping 70,000 tonnes of the fuel to Ukraine. Australia’s product is harnessed to ‘’help’’ a nation under siege from Russia while giving Australia much-need brownie (coal) points on the world stage.
A department of Industry spokesperson has told MWM that “Whitehaven was chosen as it is able to meet Ukraine’s thermal coal quality specifications and deliver the quantity required in a short timeframe, without impacting on its other contractual obligations. This is important to ensure Ukraine receives coal its generators can use as quickly as the market situation allows. It also reduces the potential impact on Australian domestic energy prices.”
Importantly, however, “Transportation details are being determined taking into account any logistical issues.”
In other words, there is no plan to get the coal to Ukraine.
Another issue was raised by The Australia Institute Richard Dennis who pointed out that Ukraine’s neighbour Poland is the 9th largest producer of coal in the world. If Australia wanted to power Ukraine, why wouldn’t we give them money to buy Polish coal?
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has reminded the world what a laggard we are on cutting emissions..
Callum Foote was a reporter for Michael West Media for four years.