Stockpiles of coal at the Hay Point coal terminal are a source of coal dust particulate pollution. Captions and Photo source: ©© Greenpeace / Hamilton
Excerpts;
“Everything about the Galilee Basin in Australia is epic. Its name, its size and sparse beauty as well as the enormous amount of coal buried just under the soil and the scale of mining being proposed to dig it up.
But eclipsing all of this are the epic consequences if this coal is mined and burnt, and this remains true whether the coal is burnt in Australia or in India or China.
Greenpeace Australia has just released a new report revealing that if the coal in the untapped Galilee Basin in Queensland is mined, Australia could create more carbon pollution than the entire emissions of the United Kingdom or Canada.
That’s a lot of global warming.
… And apart from becoming a key driver in global warming, these mines will also exact a terrible cost on farms, water supplies and coastal communities.
They would also put one of the world’s greatest natural treasures, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, under very serious threat.
UNESCO has already warned that the reef may be considered for listing as a world heritage site “in danger” within the next year.
Ultimately, global warming is placing the reef’s future at risk as coral is extremely sensitive to even short periods of increased sea temperatures, resulting in coral bleaching.
In addition, the reef stands between the Galilee Basin mine proposals and the power generation stations of Asia: mining the Galilee means new coal ports, millions of tonnes of dredging, and thousands more coal ships making their way through the Reef every year…”
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Australian coal basin may be top 10 polluter, AFP / The West Australian
A coal basin near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef will rank among the world’s worst producers of carbon pollution if fully mined, Greenpeace said Wednesday as it warned of devastating consequences…
Australian ‘mega mine’ plan threatens global emissions target, Guardian UK
“Nine proposed “mega mines” in the Galilee Basin would, at full capacity, result in 705m tonnes of CO2 released into the atmosphere, according to a Greenpeace Australia analysis…These proposed mines need to be taken off the table and development along the Great Barrier Reef coast needs to be ruled out…”
Cooking the climate: Wrecking the reef, Greenpeace
Advanced plans are in place to build nine mega mines in one region of Queensland, Australia. Located in the Galilee Basin, five of these projects would each be larger than any coal mine currently operating in the country. If these go ahead, they could produce more coal than Australia currently exports. If the Galilee Basin were a country, the carbon dioxide produced from using this coal would make it the seventh dirtiest fossil fuel burner on the planet. The Galilee Basin coal boom is not just one of the greatest ever environmental threats to Australia, its climate implications are global.
Open cut coal mining in the Bowen Bassin. Captions and Photo source: © Greenpeace / Tom Jefferson
