PLEA Network

5 June 2017, Renew Economy, “Reputation” clause may scupper government loan deal for Adani. The federal government’s ability to hand Adani Energy a $1 billion loan to help finance the rail link for the Carmichael coal project in the Galilee basin has been dealt a decisive blow by the emergence of a “reputation” clause that must guide the board of Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF). The Board of NAIF is expected to make a decision on whether to grant the funding in the next few days, but legal experts, financiers and environmental advocates argue that the existence of the reputation clause written in to the investment mandate by then resources minister Josh Frydenberg make it impossible for approval to be given. Leading environmentalists and climate change advocates such as Tim Flannery and John Hewson says the wording of the “reputation” clause should forbid the directors from supporting the loan, particularly in light of the international climate deal, the impacts on the Greater Barrier Reef, and on water quality. They say that Section 16 of the Investment Mandate of the NAIF,  a $5 billion fund created by the Coalition government that is yet to make a single investment, is quite clear and specific: Read More here