Australia rejects open-pit coal mine near Great Barrier Reef

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia has rejected a coal mining application based on environmental law for the first time. The government is under pressure to block all new coal and gas extraction projects in the interest of curbing climate change. But Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said Thursday she would decide individual projects on their merits. On Wednesday, Plibersek announced her decision to prevent excavation of the Central Queensland Coal Project less than 6 miles from the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast Australian coast. Plibersek says the risk of “pollution and irreversible damage to the reef is very real.” A United Nations-backed mission has recommended the world’s largest coral reef be listed as an endangered World Heritage site because it was imperiled by climate inaction.