- See the press release by Australian Conservation Foundation on the granting of coal mine for Adani in Australia.
Carmichael coal mine approval a blow for water, wildlife and climate
July 28, 2014
Federal environment minister Greg Hunt’s approval of a huge new coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin is bad news for water resources, wildlife and the global effort to tackle climate change, the Australian Conservation Foundation said today.
Minister Hunt today approved the massive mine which, once it reaches peak production, is expected to export 60 million tonnes of thermal coal per year from the Galilee Basin to India, via the port at Abbot Point on the Great Barrier Reef coast.
• The proponent of the Carmichael mine, Adani – a company with a history of environmental breaches – faces multi-million dollar fines in India for violation of environmental clearances and bypassing approval procedures.
• Coal from the Carmichael mine will be shipped through the Great Barrier Reef, where dredging for a new coal export terminal will damage coral and harm marine life.
• The mine will take 297 billion litres from underground aquifers, causing a drop in water table levels on which local farmers rely.
• The mine will destroy a significant proportion of the remaining habitat of the endangered black-throated finch.
• When burnt, coal from the Carmichael mine will produce 128.4 million tonnes of CO2 per year, at peak production, or four times the total carbon emissions of New Zealand.
• Coal from the Carmichael mine will be shipped through the Great Barrier Reef, where dredging for a new coal export terminal will damage coral and harm marine life.
• The mine will take 297 billion litres from underground aquifers, causing a drop in water table levels on which local farmers rely.
• The mine will destroy a significant proportion of the remaining habitat of the endangered black-throated finch.
• When burnt, coal from the Carmichael mine will produce 128.4 million tonnes of CO2 per year, at peak production, or four times the total carbon emissions of New Zealand.
“Mining uses huge quantities of water and this mine will be a massive drain on Queensland’s precious groundwater resources,” said the Australian Conservation Foundation’s healthy ecosystems campaigner Ruchira Talukdar.
“While some of the conditions imposed by the Environment Minister are welcome, they cannot stop this mine from being an environmental disaster.
“If the federal government’s proposed handover of environmental approval powers to states goes ahead, there will effectively be nobody to monitor or enforce compliance with these conditions, as the Queensland department is u
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