Adani’s Australia Story: How a Massive Coal Mine is Sparking a New Wave of Environmental Concerns - The Wire

5.11.17

Kabir Agarwal // Adani’s Australia Story: How a Massive Coal Mine is Sparking a New Wave of Environmental Concerns - The Wire: The Great Barrier Reef is one of the great natural wonders of the world. It stretches over 2,300 kilometres in length and spans over an area equal to 344,000 square kilometres, roughly the size of Germany. It consists of 2,900 individual reefs and is home to 10% of the world’s fish species. It is a remarkably bio-diverse ecosystem, and is the largest structure in the world made up of living organisms. It is even visible from outer space. Unsurprisingly, it attracts over two million visitors each year, giving shape to a tourism industry that contributes A$ 6.4 billion to Australia’s economy annually – about 0.5% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). It supports 64,000 jobs in tourism.

The reef is dying already, with or without the Adani coal mine. “The Great Barrier Reef is a sensitive eco-system and has borne the brunt of climate change for the past several years. For it to survive, we need to take drastic steps to reduce global warming by moving in the direction of zero emissions, and not build this massive coal mine”, said Imogen Zethoven, Great Barrier Reef campaign director at the Australian Marine Conservation Society.