Sydney (AFP) - Australia Thursday approved a controversial Indian-backed project to build one of the world's biggest coal mines despite conservationists' fears it threatens the Great Barrier Reef and vulnerable species while worsening global climate change.
The Aus$16.5 billion (US$12.1 billion) project in Galilee Basin in Queensland state has attracted fierce criticism from environmentalists who say the development, which requires coal to be shipped to a port on the coast, risks the World Heritage-listed reef's health and destroys local habitats.