Introduction
This journal will discuss the ethical issues associated with Adani’s Carmichael coal mine project especially the environmental issues, social issues such as protecting the public from climate change, and overall sustainability of the project. It will then identify and prioritize five groups of stakeholders and then proceed to discuss how theories and frameworks such as stakeholders’ theory, tipple bottom, and utilitarianism could be utilized to understand and improve the impact and outcome of Adani’s coal mine project. Finally, this journal will make some recommendations to Adani to achieve social responsibility and sustainability that is well-aligned to the SDGs
Identify stakeholders
There are several stakeholders in the Adani Carmichael coal mine project. The first of such stakeholders are both federal and state governments. The government's interest, in this case, is to ensure that all regulatory requirements and standards are met as well as ensure the project is of benefit to society and does little or no harm to the society. The goal is to ensure the project is economically beneficial to the local society and does little or no harm to the wider society. The second stakeholder is Adani stakeholders. Their interest is largely economic and they want the company to invest in a project that makes economic sense to them. The third stakeholder in this case is the local community. Their interests range from employment, the economic impact to the environmental impact of the project. In regard to the environmental impact, the local community is worried about the local environment since the project has the potential to damage the environment including the Great Barrier Reef. They also have economical interests including the economic contribution of the project to the local economy, employment, and so forth. The fourth stakeholder is environmentalists. Their interest is purely environmental. Coal projects are known to contribute significantly to carbon emission hence contributing to climate change. Their interest, in this case, is to see the Adani Carmichael coal mine halted due to its potential contribution to carbon emission and hence climate change. The final stakeholder is the taxpayer. The federal government has promised a $1billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility loan to Adani to build a railway from the mine site to its port while the Queensland State Government plans to spend $320 million in royalties deal. This financial support given by the government has raised the stakeholder interest in the project with their main concerned being whether their money is being spent in the right way and on the right project.