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The True Cost of Coal

Climate change caused by the mining and burning of coal is impacting farming and driving up food prices. More climate heating will cause more droughts, flooding and unpredictable extreme weather that will destroy entire crops, disrupt food supply and drive up prices at the supermarket. 

Australians are already subsidising the fossil fuel industry to the tune of $14.5 billion, but the true cost of coal is even greater. Climate change driven by the mining and burning of coal is driving up the cost of living.

We are feeling the impacts of climate change in the form of fires, floods, heatwaves and disruptions to food production, supply chains and businesses. These impacts destroy homes, communities and livelihoods, and will continue getting worse until we phase out coal.

Here are some of the ways greedy coal companies are making the cost of living crisis worse for their own profit.


Brisbane supermarket, March 2025

Brisbane supermarkets after Tropical Cyclone Alfred, March 2025

1. Food Prices

Climate change caused by the mining and burning of coal is impacting farming and driving up food prices. More climate heating will cause more droughts, flooding and unpredictable extreme weather that will destroy entire crops, disrupt food supply and drive up prices at the supermarket. 

Major flooding in far north Queensland this month alone has led to supermarkets being stripped of all but one item as residents rush to stockpile essential food and supplies. 

In NSW alone, there will be $750M - $1.5B in lost agricultural production every year by 2060 under 2 degrees of warming.


Trucks carrying food and supplies stranded west of Ingham, Qlds, Feb 2025. (Source: Copper Donkey Photo)

2. Shipping and transportation costs

Climate change caused by the mining and burning of coal will disrupt supply chains, making it harder and more expensive to buy essential goods like food and clothing. 

Australia is already grappling with the profound impact of climate change on its road infrastructure. 

Climate change caused by the mining and burning of coal will disrupt supply chains, making it harder and more expensive to buy essential goods like food and clothing.

The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) estimates damages exceed $3.8 billion in New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria alone, emphasising the urgent need for action and stressing that if left unaddressed, current issues are likely to get worse.


Parts of Queensland have been hit with triple-digit rainfall. Picture: Queensland Fire Department, 2025

Parts of Queensland have been hit with triple-digit rainfall. Picture: Queensland Fire Department

3. Insurance costs

Climate change caused by the mining and burning of coal is driving up the cost of insurance. Without access to affordable insurance property owners will struggle to attain or maintain mortgages or to be able to effectively rebuild after floods or fires. This is increasing the cost of insurance and making some high-risk areas uninsurable.

Over the last decade climate disasters have cost Australia tens of billions of dollars. Climate disasters like floods, heatwaves and bushfires disrupt our lives and businesses and destroy homes and infrastructure - forcing governments at all levels to shell out money that could be spent on schools, hospitals, childcare and other essential services.

The cost of climate disasters is already greater than revenue from coal royalties and these costs will greatly increase without urgent action to phase out coal.

Coal corporations should pay for the damage they cause, not us.




4. The coal mining industry is a tiny part of the Australian economy

The importance of coal mining to Australia’s economy has been massively overstated by the coal industry to justify its greed and destruction. In reality, coal royalties contribute very little to Government budgets. The coal industry accounts for just 4% of Australia’s GDP.

Coal corporations aren’t paying their fair share. Most coal corporations pay hardly any tax - some pay nothing at all!

Nurses, teachers and social workers pay more tax than massive multinational coal companies like Glencore and Peabody, who pay absolutely nothing despite earning billions in profits.


5. Greedy coal billionaires are responsible for the cost of living crisis impacting everyday Australians.

The executives of major coal corporations are paid obscene amounts of money to expand coal mining and make the climate and cost of living crises worse. They are having a super profits crisis while we are having a cost of living crisis.

Greedy coal executives are expanding coal just to fatten their already overstuffed pockets.


Australians are facing a climate-fuelled cost of living crisis and every new coal expansion will make it worse.

Every new coal mine approval from the Australian Government will cause more intense bushfires and more powerful floods, driving up the cost of food, housing and insurance.

The Australian Government must take action to protect the community from climate change and increased cost of living by immediately stopping all coal expansion and planning an orderly phase out.

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