New Fossil Fuel Threats

As an example, we can look at the threat posed by new coal mining in Australia. Adani’s proposed development of a gigantic coal mine in Queensland’s untapped Galilee Basin could see the extraction of some 60 million tonnes of coal per year, twice the output of Australia’s current largest coal mine.

Along with the massive costs the mine would inherently imposes on the carbon budget, the Galilee Basin expansion will also see the destruction of thousands of hectares of land, as well as major infrastructure works.

Worryingly, the works planned to support the new mine include the expansion of the Abbot Point coal port, which will see further irreparable damage done to the fragile Great Barrier Reef.

In addition to these Australia-specific issues, continued exploration and development of fossil fuel reserves internationally also pose huge climate and environmental risks.

In India, the first budget under the Modi government included particularly worrying announcements of plans for a number of new coal-powered Ultra Mega Power Projects to be built. India’s coal minister also voiced intentions to triple internal coal mining to 1.5b tonnes per annum.

While global demand for coal continues to wane, the huge scale of India’s power requirements make it one of the few countries in the world that could turn this trend around.

Indonesia also poses a risk of massive increases in future coal consumption. The nation, which is currently the world’s largest exporter of coal, has flagged plans to triple its use of local coal over the next ten years, seemingly completely disregarding the country’s aim to cut CO2 emissions by 26% by 2020.

In the US President Barack Obama used his powers to veto the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, which would have seen some of the most energy intensive oil on the planet being pumped from tar sands in Canada into the States. While the presidential veto is a handy roadblock to the project, Republican pressure and a fast-approaching election will ensure that the issue won’t go away.