Abbot Point go-ahead defies Paris decision

Abbot Point - given the go-ahead by
Environment Minister, Greg Hunt.

Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt has given the go-ahead to the expansion of the Abbot Point Coal Terminal near Bowen in north Queensland, making it one of the world's largest coal ports.

The controversial project involves dredging 1.1 million cubic metres of spoil near the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which will then be disposed of on land.

Read the ABC story - “Abbot Point: Federal Government approves huge coal port expansion near Great Barrier Reef.”

(This appears to be a contradictory decision – world communities recently agreed in Paris to ensure their behaviours would not allow global temperatures to exceed two degrees Celsius and now the Australian Government has acted to expedite the shipping of coal through the Abbot Point Coal Terminal. Coal stands alone as an atmospheric pollutant and so its excavation, sale and shipping through the rather fragile Great Barrier Reef, defies the spirit of the Paris agreement – Robert McLean.)