The government of Australia sanctioned the “First New Coal Mine.”
For the first time since taking office a year ago, Australia’s centre-left Labour government announced Friday that it would approve a new coal mine, infuriating environmental groups.
The administration of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that it would give the go-ahead for the Queensland-based Isaac River mine project of Bowen Coking Coal to extract metallurgical coal used in the production of steel.
It is the first new coal mine that the government has approved, despite its relatively small size. The government won over many voters by promising to reduce carbon emissions after a decade of Australian inaction on climate change.
According to a representative for Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, “the Albanese government has to make decisions in accordance with the facts and the national environment law — that’s what happens on every project, and that’s what’s happened here.”
In a statement, the spokesperson said that since the election, “we have doubled renewable energy approvals to a record high.”
The government reported that there were no submissions to the coal project’s public consultation.
According to the Australian Conservation Foundation, the project was approved despite climate science being disregarded.
The world’s climate scientists have all been adamant for years, according to the foundation’s Gavan McFadzean, that “if we desire an environment that is secure, we must immediately stop mining and burning coal.”
Executive chairman Nick Jorss stated in a statement, “We’re here to meet the growing demand for energy and steelmaking coal.”
Australia is one of the top countries in the world for carbon dioxide emissions per person, and its economy is based on mining and coal exports.
On Australia’s east coast, severe storms in 2022 led to devastating floods that claimed the lives of more than 20 people.
During the “Black Summer” bushfires of 2019–2020, more than eight million hectares of native vegetation were destroyed, and in 2016, 2017, and 2020, the Great Barrier Reef experienced mass coral bleaching due to marine heatwaves.
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