The Carmichael mine, which was given the green light by the Queensland government in May, has been fiercely opposed by environmentalists due to its potential impact upon the reef, groundwater at its site and its hefty carbon emissions.
This geographic concentration of such a hefty proportion of emissions actually presents an opportunity for easier fixes.
A hefty chunk of Chinese emissions (estimates of 30% or more are bandied about) is "embedded" in goods that are exported, often by multinational companies.
Producing and shipping accounts for nearly a third of Champagne's carbon emissions, with the hefty bottle the biggest offender.
Like most large international conferences, the United Nations climate summit meeting in New York this week generated a hefty dose of greenhouse gas emissions.
Although the pipeline would give the United States a more plentiful and secure supply of oil, environmentalists say that it is a bad idea because the process of extracting oil from the rock creates a hefty dose of greenhouse gas emissions and could threaten precious ecosystems.
In the first successful case of its kind, a judge in the Hague has ruled that the Dutch government's stance on climate change is illegal and has ordered them to take action to cut greenhouse gas emissions by a hefty 25% within five years.
Today, all of them have already made hefty commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, in advance of the conference.
By putting a hefty price on carbon, the system lets investment decisions drive emissions reductions rather than having governments dictate investment in particular clean energy sources like solar or wind.
Former TransCanada CEO Hal Kvisle told the Globe and Mail "a very hefty carbon tax could have the outcome of significantly reducing carbon emissions".
