Plans to open up a new Australian "coal export rush" would turn a single Queensland region into the seventh largest contributor of carbon dioxide emissions on the planet, undermining international efforts to keep global warming below 2C, a new report has warned.

Nine proposed "mega mines" in the Galilee Basin would, at full capacity, result in 705m tonnes of CO2 released into the atmosphere, according to a Greenpeace Australia analysis. This level of emissions would surpass those of all but six nations in the world. By comparison, the UK emitted 549.3 million tonnes of CO2 from all sources in 2011.

...

The Alpha coal mine, a joint venture between Indian conglomerate GVK and Gina Rinehart's Hancock Coal, last month became the first major Galilee Basin project to be given state and federal government approval, despite protests from environmentalists and farmers.

The mine, which will bring an estimated AU$1bn (£642m) into the Queensland economy, will have the capacity to create 64.7m tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of Israel's entire 2009 emissions from fuel combustion.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/18/mega-mine-australia-global-emissions