The coal industry is embarking on a project that would do grave damage to the Great Barrier Reef by massively expanding the port at Abbot Point and building huge new coal mines in Queensland. The resultant dredging and ship traffic would devastate this delicate ecosystem, a global treasure that is under protection as a World Heritage Site.
The climate impacts would be catastrophic, as building out Abbot Point would mean a dramatic expansion of coal mining in Australia’s Galilee Basin, one of the world’s largest stores of carbon. The planned mega-mines would each generate quantities of greenhouse gas pollution that would dwarf those associated with any previous Australian resources project. Projected annual greenhouse gas emissions from coal produced by the proposed Carmichael mine would exceed those of the entire Belgian economy.
The coal industry needs international bank funding to make their reckless new project happen. Many global banks have already said “no” to financing the project. U.S. banks Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup have already ruled out financing for Abbot Point. Leading European investment banks, including HSBC, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank, have made similar commitments.
Call on Bank of America to do the same.