Queensland is one of the six states in Australia, and is Australia’s coal heartland. 

Regions: Granite Belt. | South Burnett.

Climate change: ‘Global warming is exacerbating [Queensland’s] frequent floods and droughts, and has devastated big parts of the Great Barrier Reef, which stretches along its coast. But the state’s economy is dependent on exploiting natural resources, notably coal, and many of its voters are wary of environmental regulation,’ (‘Upset Down Under’, The Economist May 25th 2019, p.49). In 2019 the go-ahead was given to Indian firm Adani to mine the Galilee Basin, ‘one of the world’s largest untapped reserves of thermal coal, the type used in power plants,’ (‘Black in business,’ The Economist June 29th 2019). Shipping the coal will be via a port near the Great Barrier Reef, which has suffered significant damage to its coral. Nearby wetlands have also suffered from contaminant, environmentalists say (ibid).