Climate
Burning coal for energy is the single biggest fossil fuel contributor to climate change. The planned exponential increase in the volume of coal mined, exported and eventually burnt  would result in billions of tonnes of carbon pollution from the Galilee Basin over the coming decades.

Great Barrier Reef
Between the fossil fuel industry and its massive expansion plans is an Australian natural icon: the Great Barrier Reef. Coastal coal and gas projects are already threatening its World Heritage status, but a series of proposed new export terminals would lock in environmental disaster for the Reef. Climate change, ocean acidification, pollution and shipping are all damaging the health of the reef ecosystem. Directly contributing to and exacerbating these threats is reckless industrialisation, driven by the unprecedented expansion of Queensland's coal and gas industries.

Land use
Coastal habitats are a vital component of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem. Beaches provide nesting grounds for turtles and seabirds. Mangroves are home to a diverse range of marine life, breeding grounds for fish and habitat for birds and land based animals. Seagrass meadows are the nurseries of juvenile fish, prawns, crayfish and crabs and the primary food source of dugongs and green turtles. Coastal development has a range of consequences for the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem. Massive swathes of wetlands and dune systems have already been lost. Those remaining are under sustained threat from industrial development including from infrastructure associated with the fossil fuel export boom. Water runs into the Great Barrier Reef from a total catchment of 424,000 kilometres. The low quality of this water, mainly resulting from excessive nutrient, sediment and pesticide runoff from agriculture, has deleterious effects on many marine organisms. Mining can also contribute to the problem as contaminated water from mine sites containing heavy metals, acid-leachate, salts and sediments is frequently released into the Great Barrier Reef catchment.

On and offshore
Development of the proposed coal terminals located in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area will result in the destruction and disturbance of significant areas of Queensland coastline. On land, the development will result in coal terminals covering over 5,000 hectares: an area equivalent to over 2,500 times the size of the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This area is only a fraction of what will be disturbed by coal train yards, other associated infrastructure and coal wharfs. The development of most of the proposed new coal export terminals will require dredging to permit massive coal ships access to the loading wharfs. Dredging destroys the seabed and can resuspend contaminants into the water column, causing widespread impacts. For example, dredging at Hay Point in 2007 impacted corals 12 kilometres away.

Ultimately, climate change and ocean acidification pose the greatest threat to the reef. Coral is extremely sensitive to even short periods of increased sea temperatures, resulting in coral bleaching (death). Over the past two decades a number of major bleaching events have occurred, in two cases (1997/8 and 2002/3 approximately 50% of the reef was affected).

The negative impacts of shipping on the reef include collisions, groundings, introduction of invasive marine pests, oil and chemical spills, introduction of anti-fouling paints, waste disposal and anchor damage. Since 1985 an average of two major shipping incidents, such as collisions or groundings, have occurred in the Great Barrier Reef each year. The Great Barrier Reef provides AUD5.1 billion per year to the Australian economy and sustains 50,000 jobs. (source Greenpeace: Boom Goes the Reef Report).