Several protests were staged across Australia against Adani Enterprises’ proposed Carmichael coal mine, Reuters reported on Saturday. Environmental activists claim that the Queensland project, which would become Australia’s largest coal mine, will damage the Great Barrier Reef and increase global warming.

The demonstrations were organised by the Stop Adani alliance, which includes more than 30 groups, The Guardian reported. Protestors formed human signs that said “#STOP ADANI” at beaches and prominent locations across the country.

“I think there is a very real national concern that goes beyond Queensland about the idea of giving this mine a billion-dollar taxpayer-funded loan,” Blair Palese, one of the organisers, said.

A survey conducted by ReachTel said 55% of nearly 2,200 respondents in Australia are against the project and the $1-billiion federal loan being granted to the company.

In August, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani had said that work on the $16.5-billion (around Rs 10,000 crore) project will begin in October. The conglomerate decided to move ahead with the project after a Brisbane court, on August 25, dismissed two appeals against the venture.

The Carmichael coal mine project was first proposed in 2010. It has been tangled in legal disputes for years as environmentalists have opposed it.