Special Report
The Critical List:
91 coal projects
Australia can’t afford
The Climate Commission’s The Critical Decade 2013
confirms that Australians are already suffering the
impacts of climate change. The consequences of our
failure to tackle rising greenhouse gas emissions,
the bulk of which come from burning fossil fuels,
are being felt already and will get much worse.
The Climate Commission’s recent report confirmed
that to avoid dangerous climate change – which means
not allowing global average temperatures to rise by
more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels – most of
Australia’s fossil fuel reserves must stay in the ground.1
Despite this clear warning, State and Federal
Governments are considering allowing the coal industry
in NSW and Queensland to develop 91 new coal mining
projects between now and the end of the critical
decade. If they are allowed to proceed, burning the
coal from these new projects could add an additional
1.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere
each year after 2018, and help drive dangerous levels
of global warming. Australia has committed to not allow
global average temperatures to rise by more than 2°C,
and this commitment has bi-partisan support. We have
been shown that we cannot meet this goal and continue
expanding our coal industry.
This special report reveals the scale of coal expansion
proposed for NSW and Queensland, its likely
contribution to global greenhouse pollution, and the
projects that must be halted if Australia takes seriously
its commitment to preventing 2°C of global warming.
The choice is before us: it is coal, or the country.
Burning all fossil fuel reserves
would lead to unprecedented
changes in climate so severe that
they will challenge the existence of
our society as we know it today.
Climate Commission The Critical
Decade 2013
2
Our choice: coal means climate change
Worldwide, coal makes the biggest contribution to greenhouse gas pollution, and this pollution is rising quickly. Burning fossil fuels
-- coal, oil and gas -- is driving climate change and is killing and harming hundreds of thousands of people every year.2
The Climate Commission has made clear Australia’s key policy conundrum: to continue expanding our coal exports means
inflicting the worsening impacts of climate change on every other industry in this country, and every one of its citizens,
for the sake of just one industry. This is not reasonable.
We know that to have a 50:50 chance of limiting warming to below two degrees above pre-industrial levels we must not mine,
sell and burn most of the world’s coal. To have an 80% chance of meeting that goal more than three-quarters of the world’s coal
must remain in the ground.3
The International Energy Agency has stated that, “To keep open a realistic chance of meeting the 2°C target, intensive action
is required before 2020, the date by which a new international climate agreement is due to come into force. Energy is at the heart
of this challenge: the energy sector accounts for around two-thirds of greenhouse-gas emissions as more than 80% of global
energy consumption is based on fossil fuels.” 4 According to the International Energy Agency, in a scenario where the world acts
to meet the goal of limiting warming to below two degrees, “Global demand for coal peaks around 2016 and then declines by
2.7% per year on average”.5
In a carbon constrained world where energy coal is the biggest contributor to a carbon problem
how do you think this is going to evolve… I suspect the usage of thermal coal is going to
decline, and frankly, it should.
Marcus Randolph Chief Executive, Iron and Coal BHP Billiton 5 November 2012
3
How much more coal is Australia
planning to mine and sell in this
critical time period?
NSW and Queensland already have over 100 operational
black coal mines. In those states there are 91 new coal
projects proposed, 54 of which are entirely new mines with the
remainder being mine extension or expansion projects.
Most of these projects are proposed to be approved and
begin operation before 2020. All require approval from State or
Federal Governments, or both. If these new coal projects
go ahead, they will produce, once fully operating, 604 million
tonnes of coal per year beyond the roughly 400 million tonnes
that are being produced by already operating mines. That is
enough coal to create over 1.5Gt of carbon dioxide pollution
annually. When added to the 720 million tonnes of carbon
dioxide annually produced from the coal already exported
from Australia, it would take the carbon dioxide contribution
of Australian coal industry globally to over 2 billion tonnes
per annum.
4
Figure: New carbon dioxide emissions from Australian
coal projects
Map: New coal projects in NSW and Queensland
The 91 new coal projects in NSW and QLD
Bowen
Mackay
Moranbah
Rockhampton
Emerald
Gladstone
Brisbane
Q U EENSL AN D
Gold Coast
NE W SOU TH WAL ES
Tamworth
KEY
Existing mines
Muswellbrook
Expanding mines
Newcastle
New mines
Bathurst
Sydney
Wollongong
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Table: New coal projects in NSW and Queensland, by region
Coal region
New coal projects
Proposed capacity
Additional CO2
Bowen Basin
43
184
486
Cape York
1
2
4
Clarence-Moreton Basin
3
9
23
Galilee Basin
7
222
531
Gloucester
2
4
9
Gunnedah Basin
5
26
65
Hunter
9
41
101
Maryborough Basin
1
1
1
Newcastle coalfield
2
9
22
Southern coalfield
4
11
30
Styx Basin
1
2
4
Surat Basin
9
72
171
Western coalfields
4
23
56
Total
91
604
1502
Table: New coal projects seeking Government approvals6
6
Project
Company
State
Coal region
Type
Est. Start
Est. capacity
Est. CO2
Alpha Coal Project
GVK – Hancock Coal
QLD
Galilee Basin
New mine
2016
30
72
Appin Area 9
BHP Billiton
NSW
Southern coalfield
Expansion
2016
3.5
9
Arcturus
Bandanna Energy
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2018+
3
7
Ashton South
East opencut
Yancoal Australia
NSW
Hunter
Expansion
2018+
3.6
9
Austar underground
(stage 3)
Yancoal Australia
NSW
Newcastle coalfield
Expansion
2013
3.6
10
Baralaba expansion
Cockatoo Coal
QLD
Clarence-Moreton Basin
Expansion
2014
3.5
9
Baralaba South
Cockatoo Coal
QLD
Clarence-Moreton Basin
Expansion
2014
3
8
Belvedere underground
Vale
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2016
7
19
Bengalla expansion
(stage 2)
Rio Tinto /
Wesfarmers
NSW
Hunter
Expansion
2018+
1.4
3
Boggabri opencut
Idemitsu Kosan
NSW
Gunnedah Basin
Expansion
2014
3.5
8
Broadmeadow
(mine life extension)
BHP Billiton
Mitsubishi Alliance
(BMA)
QLD
Bowen Basin
Expansion
2013
0.4
1
Bundi Coal Project
MetroCoal
QLD
Surat Basin
New mine
2017
5
12
Byerwen Coal Project
QCoal / JFE Steel
Corporation
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2015
10
27
Carmichael Coal Project
(mine and rail)
Adani
QLD
Galilee Basin
New mine
2016
60
143
Caval Ridge
BHP Billiton
Mitsubishi Alliance
(BMA)
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2014
8
22
China First Coal project
(Galilee Coal Project)
Waratah Coal
QLD
Galilee Basin
New mine
2017
40
96
Coalpac consolidation
(Cullen Valley and
Invincible mines)
Coalpac
NSW
Western coalfields
Expansion
2016
1.6
4
Cobbora
Cobbora Holding
Company
NSW
Western coalfields
New mine
2015
12
29
7
Codrilla
Peabody Energy
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2017
3.2
9
Colton
New Hope
QLD
Maryborough Basin
New mine
2015
0.5
1
Comet Ridge
Acacia Coal /
Bandanna Energy
QLD
Galilee Basin
New mine
2015
0.4
1
Curragh Mine
Wesfarmers
QLD
Bowen Basin
Expansion
2018+
1.5-2
5
Daunia
BHP Billiton
Mitsubishi Alliance
(BMA)
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2013
4.5
12
Dingo West
Bandanna Energy
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2014
1
3
Doyles Creek
Nucoal Resources
/ MMI
NSW
Hunter
New mine
2018+
4.8
11
Drake Coal project
QCoal
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2014
6
15
Drayton South
Anglo Coal Australia
NSW
Hunter
Expansion
2015
4
10
Duralie Extension
project
Yancoal Australia
NSW
Gloucester
Expansion
2018+
1.2
3
Eagle Downs
(Peak Downs East
underground)
Aquila Resources /
Vale
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2016
4.5
12
Eaglefield
Peabody Energy
QLD
Bowen Basin
Expansion
2015
5.2
14
Elimatta
New Hope
QLD
Surat Basin
New mine
2016
5
12
Ellensfield coal mine
project
Vale
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2018+
5.5
14
Foxleigh Plains Project
Anglo Coal Australia
QLD
Bowen Basin
Expansion
2014
1.4
4
Grosvenor Phase 2
Anglo American
QLD
Bowen Basin
Expansion
2017
6
16
Grosvenor
underground
Anglo American
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2013
5
14
Hillalong
Rocklands Richfield
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2018+
1.8
5
Jax
QCoal
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2018+
1.8
5
Jellinbah East
Jellinbah, Marubeni,
Sojitz
QLD
Bowen Basin
Expansion
2015
2
5
Kestrel
Rio Tinto, Mitsui
QLD
Bowen Basin
Expansion
2013
1.4
4
Kevin's Corner
GVK
QLD
Galilee Basin
New mine
2016
30
72
Lake Vermont
Jellinbah, Marubeni,
Sojitz, AMCI
QLD
Bowen Basin
Expansion
2013
4
11
Maules Creek
Whitehaven
NSW
Gunnedah Basin
New mine
2014
10.8
28
Metropolitan
Peabody Energy
NSW
Southern coalfield
Expansion
2015
1.5
4
Middlemount
(stage 2)
Peabody Energy /
YanCoal
QLD
Bowen Basin
Expansion
2018+
3.6
10
Millennium
Peabody Energy
QLD
Bowen Basin
Expansion
2013
1.5
4
Minyango
Guangdong Rising
Assets Management
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2014
7.5
19
Moolarben (stage 2 )
Yancoal Australia
NSW
Western coalfields
Expansion
2018+
3
7
Moorlands
Cuesta Coal Limited
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2016
2
5
Moranbah South
project
Anglo Coal Australia
/ Exxaro
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2018+
12
32
Mount Pleasant Project
Rio Tinto / Mitsubishi
NSW
Hunter
New mine
2018+
10.5
25
Mt Penny
Cascade Coal
NSW
Hunter
New mine
2018+
5
12
Mt Thorley
– Warkworth extension
Rio Tinto
NSW
Hunter
Expansion
2018+
0
0
New Acland (stage 3)
New Hope Coal
QLD
Clarence-Moreton Basin
Expansion
2016
2.7
6
New Lenton
New Hope Coal,
MPC
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2016
5
14
Newlands
Xstrata
QLD
Bowen Basin
Expansion
2014
5
12
8
North Surat
– Collingwood Project
Cockatoo Coal
QLD
Surat Basin
New mine
2015
6
14
Norwood Coal Mine
MetroCoal
QLD
Surat Basin
New mine
2017
6.5
16
NRE No. 1 Colliery
Gujarat NRE Coking
Coal
NSW
Southern coalfield
Expansion
2014
3
8
Oaky Creek
(phase 2)
Xstrata, Sumisho,
Itochu, ICRA OC
QLD
Bowen Basin
Expansion
2018+
5
14
Orion Downs
Endocoal
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2014
2.5
6
Project China Stone
MacMines Austasia
QLD
Galilee Basin
New mine
2018+
45
107
Ravensworth North
(Stage 1)
Xstrata, Itochu
NSW
Hunter
Expansion
2013
8
20
Rolleston
(phase 1)
Xstrata, Sumisho,
IRCA
QLD
Bowen Basin
Expansion
2014
3
7
Rolleston (phase 2)
Xstrata, Sumisho,
IRCA
QLD
Bowen Basin
Expansion
2018+
3
7
Sarum
Xstrata, Itochu, ICRA
NCA, Sumisho
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2014
6.5
17
South Galilee Coal
Project (3 phases)
Bandanna Energy
QLD
Galilee Basin
New mine
2015
17
41
Springsure Creek
(stage 1)
Bandanna Energy
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2015
5.5
13
Springsure Creek
(stage 2)
Bandanna Energy
QLD
Bowen Basin
Expansion
2018+
5.5
13
Stratford
Yancoal Australia
NSW
Gloucester
Expansion
2014
2.6
7
Styx
Waratah Coal,
Queensland Nickel
QLD
Styx Basin
New mine
2018+
1.5
4
Talwood Coking Coal
Project
Aquila Resources
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2016
3.6
9
Taroborah
Shenhuo
International
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2015
2.3
6
Taroom
Cockatoo Coal
QLD
Surat Basin
New mine
2018+
8
19
Tarrawonga Expansion
Whitehaven
NSW
Gunnedah Basin
Expansion
2018+
1
3
Teresa
Linc Energy
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2016
8
22
The Range Project
Stanmore Coal
QLD
Surat Basin
New mine
2016
5
12
Togara North
Xstrata
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2017
6
14
Ulan West
Xstrata, Mitsubishi
NSW
Western coalfields
Expansion
2014
6.7
16
United Project
Xstrata, CFMEU
NSW
Hunter
Expansion
2015
4
11
Vermont East/Wilunga
Peabody Energy
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2015
3
8
Vickery
Whitehaven
NSW
Gunnedah Basin
New mine
2014
4.5
11
Wallarah underground
longwall
Korea Resources
Corp / Sojitz Corp
NSW
Newcastle coalfield
New mine
2018+
5
12
Wandoan opencut
(phase 1)
Xstrata, Itochu,
Sumisho Coal
QLD
Surat Basin
New mine
2015
22
53
Wards Well
BHP Billiton
Mitsubishi Alliance
(BMA)
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2017
5
14
Washpool coal project
Aquila Resources
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2018+
2.6
7
Watermark
Shenhua Energy
NSW
Gunnedah Basin
New mine
2015
6.15
15
Wilkie Creek
Peabody Energy
QLD
Surat Basin
Expansion
2016
10
24
Winchester South
Rio Tinto
QLD
Bowen Basin
New mine
2016
4
10
Wongai Project
Aust-Pac Capital
QLD
Cape York
New mine
2018+
1.5
4
Wongawilli Colliery
Gujarat NRE Coking
Coal
NSW
Southern coalfield
Expansion
2016
3
8
Woori
Cockatoo Coal
QLD
Surat Basin
New mine
2016
4
10
End Notes
1. Climate Commission. The Critical Decade 2013. June 2013. http://climatecommission.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/The-Critical-Decade-2013_medres_web.pdf
2. For the human toll of climate change, already estimated to be 300,000 people annually worldwide, see Global Humanitarian Forum Human Impact Report 2009
http://www.ghf-ge.org/human-impact-report.pdf. Studies have been undertaken in various countries of the health impacts and casualties from coal pollution,
as one example, see Conservation Action Trust, Urban Emissions and Greenpeace Coal Kills: An Assessment of Death and Disease caused by India’s Dirtiest
Energy Source. 2013. http://www.greenpeace.org/india/Global/india/report/Coal_Kills.pdf
3. Carbon Tracker Unburnable Carbon: Wasted Capital and Stranded Assets. June 2013. http://www.carbontracker.org/wastedcapital
4. IEA Special Report: Redrawing the Climate-Energy Map. June 2013.
5. IEA. World Energy Outlook 2011. Page 212.
6. Data in this table is drawn from the Bureau of Resource and Energy Economics (BREE) Resources and Energy Major Projects List. April 2013 with the
addition of coal projects seeking planning approvals but not included in that list, and the exclusion of projects for which production levels are not specified.
Projects without start dates provided by BREE have been given a start date of 2018+ and italicised.
9