CANBERRA -- Australian coal producers are caught in a bind as immediate energy demands offer lucrative opportunities despite financial and regulatory pressures that make opening new mines and expanding old ones increasingly difficult as the global shift toward cleaner, carbon-free sources accelerates.
The resource-rich country is the world's second-largest exporter of thermal coal, which also fuels more than half of Australia's power grid. But securing new loans and permits is becoming harder as efforts to cut emissions increase.
