To dig or not to dig? That is the question. The Queensland government has issued controversial licences that allow the development of Australia鈥檚 largest coal mine.
Issued on Sunday by Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, the Indian-based mining company Adani to extract coal from the planned Carmichael coal mine in the at the heart of the state.
As part of the plan, which would see huge exports of coal to India, the port at Abbot Point adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef would be expanded to accommodate the extra traffic. This would potentially release plumes of soil and debris over the reef, causing damage to its ecosystem.
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In addition, environmental groups say that mining and the eventual burning of this coal will generate huge amounts of carbon dioxide that will accelerate global warming and affect the health of the reef.
Burning questions
鈥淚f it goes ahead, burning coal from the Carmichael mine would create billions of tonnes of pollution, making climate change worse and irreversibly damaging the Great Barrier Reef,鈥� says Josh Meadows of the .
The foundation is challenging the legality of previous federal level approval for the mine on the basis that it is inconsistent with Australia鈥檚 international obligations to protect the World Heritage-listed Barrier Reef. The case will be heard in a court in Brisbane in early May.
The foundation calculates that if the mine operates for 60 years, Carmichael would yield 2.3 gigatonnes of coal, which would generate 4.73 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide when burned.
鈥淲e will argue that the federal environment minister, Greg Hunt, did not properly consider the impact that pollution from burning the mine鈥檚 coal will have on the Great Barrier Reef,鈥� says Meadows. 鈥� Hunt went against his international responsibilities to protect the reef, a UN World Heritage Site.鈥�
