The mine has drawn criticism for its environmental impacts on the Great Barrier Reef, water usage, and carbon emissions, leading to a campaign known as Stop Adani.

Associated works included new port terminals and seabed dredging at the Abbot Point, and it was planned to dump the drudge on land.

[13] The company was the "jersey sleeve" sponsor of the North Queensland Cowboys NRL rugby league team for the 2021 season.

[23][24] In September 2018, Adani announced that it had abandoned plans to build the standard-gauge line in favour of a 200 km (124 mi) extension to a nearby existing narrow-gauge railway.

"[29] The fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers for the mine during the construction phase were based in the regional cities of Rockhampton and Townsville.

[39] According to the environmental impact statement, the mine was expected to produce 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, based on a 60-year lifespan.

The protest was criticised by pro-coal lobby groups and is considered a factor in the Queensland voters' swing away from progressive parties in the 2019 Australian federal election.

Beyond the mine boundary, Adani's groundwater model predicted water table levels to drop "typically between 20 and 50m" and "up to around 4m in the vicinity of the [Carmichael] river".

[46] During a hearing in the QLD Land Court, Adani's representatives defended predictions drawn from drilling data, despite allegations of this being insufficient to determine risks of collapses underground that could impact groundwater systems.

[47] The mine site area is home to a number of species, including the yakka skink, ornamental snake, and the waxy cabbage palm.

[54] The mine drawn criticism for its environmental impacts on the Great Barrier Reef, water usage, and carbon emissions.

[61] Large coal projects in Australia typically engage with one or more of the "big four" Australian banks in arranging or providing debt.

[68] In 2014, the Queensland Liberal National Party state government proposed reduced taxes for the project in the form of an open-ended royalty rate "holiday",[69] and for taxpayers to pay for the sediment dumping facility in the Caley Valley wetlands.

[78] In 2016, a group of Indigenous landholders launched a case in the Queensland Supreme court against the granting of Adani's mining lease, on the basis that they had not been properly consulted.

[82] As of August 2022[update], members of the Wangan and Jagalingou people continue to occupy a cultural ceremony and camp site near the mine.

[84] The Federal Court of Australia case involved three main contentions, that the Minister did not take into account the greenhouse gas emissions, the company's environmental record in India and the "approved conservation advice" for the Yakka Skink and the ornamental snake.

[86][87] Following this decision, the attorney-general at the time, George Brandis, stated his intention to disallow third parties from challenging the minister's approvals under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

[97] The review challenged then-Environment Minister Melissa Price's decision to waive a full environmental assessment for water use from the Suttor River in central Queensland.

[98][99] Under amendments to the EPBC Act known as the water trigger, the Minister must obtain advice from an Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development[100] if an activity is likely to have a significant impact on water resources or impact on a protected ecological communities, species, World Heritage Sites, national heritage sites, or protected wetlands.

The federal court ruled in favour of the ACF in May 2021, thereby requiring the minister to reconsider the environmental impacts associated with the mine's water pipeline before it is approved.