Revealed: HESTA and other super funds investing in Adani coal mining subsidiary

Adani Enterprises is the parent company of Bravus Mining and Resources, owner and operator of the controversial Carmichael coal mine and rail network in Queensland, Australia, the focus of the fierce and ongoing #StopAdani campaign. This is also the Adani company which plans to develop, own or operate another 72 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of coal reserves in India, in addition to the 60 mtpa Carmichael mine.  This makes Adani Enterprises one of the biggest developers of new coal mines on Earth.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone is the part owner and operator of the port that will ship Carmichael coal – North Queensland export terminal (NQXT). It also established the Bowen Rail company, the coal haulage company for the Carmichael mine, which it has now transferred to Adani Enterprises.  

Adani Ports’ controversies don’t stop with Carmichael though. Just last year the company was delisted from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for its connection to the Myanmar military via the Yangon container port project, and recently Norwegian sovereign wealth fund Norges BIM added Adani Ports to its watch list citing doubts that Adani will stop work on the project. Since the Myanmar military took power in a coup in February 2021, the United Nations human rights office estimates more than 1500 protestors have been killed and almost 12,000 unlawfully detained in Myanmar. At the time of publication Adani is still involved with the MEC in Myanmar.

Any investment of members’ retirement savings in these two companies is unacceptable, but especially so for any super fund that claims to take the climate crisis and human rights seriously.   

100+ HESTA members are planning on ditching HESTA in June if the fund continues investing in companies expanding fossil fuels.