Three Adani Group firms ousted from UN-backed green list

Three Adani Group companies—Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission, and Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone—have been removed from the United Nations-backed Science Based Targets Initiative’s (SBTi) list of “companies taking action” against climate change. The UN-backed group helps companies in establishing concrete plans to reduce emissions in keeping with the Paris Agreement’s target to curb global warming.

An SBTi spokesperson was quoted as saying by Bloomberg: “The SBTi carried out an internal assessment based on publicly available and submitted information and concluded that the involved companies are not in conformity” with its standards and policy requirements. Two other Adani companies—Ambuja Cements and ACC, however, have retained their place on the list.

The three Adani Group companies were excluded after non-profit groups Eko and Market Forces requested the SBTi to review the five companies-- Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, Ambuja Cements, and ACC—on its list in March this year. These non-profits cited the “interconnected financial nature of the group”, a “flagrant disregard” for corporate governance and its fossil fuel expansion plans.

Adani Group companies, however, are not the only ones to be removed from the SBTi’s list after it updated its fossil fuel policy. The UN-backed SBTi has removed at least 16 other firms from its list. As per its updated fossil fuel policy, the SBTi excludes companies with direct involvement in exploration, extraction, mining, and/or production of oil, natural gas, coal or other fossil fuels.

The Adani Group said it asked the SBTi to justify the exclusion of the three companies while adding it was “optimistic” that the SBTi would “review and reverse its decision”. A spokesperson for Adani Group told the media company, “None of these companies is involved in the exploration, extraction, mining, and/or production of oil, natural gas, coal or other fossil fuels”.

The exclusion from the SBTi’s list is a big blow to the group as it is trying to raise around $800 million for its new energy projects as part of its plan to transform Adani group into world’s largest producer of renewable energy.

(With Bloomberg inputs)

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