Unlike some of his less strident colleagues, who would be happy if coal was not used for domestic power consumption but exported to the countries, Bandt wants a complete ban on coal which he describes as "evil".
He wants to throw anyone mining or exporting coal in jail for at least seven years.
The cost of such folly to the nation's future generations and the economic well-being of coal rich states such as Queensland for decades was made clear by the Queensland government's release of the state's coal inventory.
The total estimate for the 2018 Queensland coal inventory has amounted to just fewer than 63 billion tonnes of raw coal in-situ.
That is about a 29Bt increase on the previous estimate in 2010.
Coking coal is selling for about US$200 per tonne out of ports in Queensland and thermal coal is trading at around $120/t.
Queensland is more endowned with the more valuable coking coal but for the sake of the exercise let's assume we multiply the inventory tonnes by $160/t - the halfway point between the coking and thermal coal price.
If Hogsback's maths is correct that would mean the value of the Queensland coal inventory would be a whopping $10 trillion.
If this was mined economically and sustainably, this inventory of coal could be mined for generations and provide Queenslanders with the high standard of living they have come to enjoy.
According to the International Energy Agency, Australia's net exports of coal are forecast to increase by 20% by 2040 while the Office of the Chief Economist said Australia's coal earnings were on target to generate more than $67 billion in 2018-19, making it Australia's largest commodity export.
Queensland Resources Council's economic data shows the coal industry contributed $43.4 billion to the state's economy in 2017-18 and invested $13.1 billion with local businesses and community organisations.
Bandt and other environmentalists of his ilk have no alternatives for this lost potential income except for the development of the renewables industry.
No doubt, $10 trillion would require a lot of wind turbines and solar panels.
