Australia coal on the rise despite banks walking away

Sydney

STANDARD Chartered has become the second bank in a week to walk away from a multi-billion dollar Australian coal project, leading environmentalists to claim a major victory in one of the world's top coal-producing nations.

But while coal becomes increasingly viewed as a "sunset" business in many developed countries - the US Clean Power Plan unveiled last week aims to shift the fuel generation mix dramatically away from coal - production is rising in Australia. "To say coal mining will stop in Australia is unrealistic," said James Wilson, an analyst with Morgans Financial in Perth, noting that some of the biggest and most efficient mines in the world are located in the country.