Just when you thought Tony Abbott’s environmental record couldn’t get any worse, it did

In the nearly two years since taking office, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has tried to convince us to love coal, hate renewable energy and let mining companies do whatever they damn well like. 

He's also tried to get us to loathe sharks as much as he does, agree that logging protected forests is a good idea and stand by while millions of tons of soil is dumped near the Great Barrier Reef. 

While many people in Australia and overseas have strongly opposed his anti-green policies, Abbott has been largely successful in putting them into action. 

But here's the scary bit — there's still time for things to get a whole lot worse for the environment.  

The Australian federal election won't be held until next year, which means Abbott could be the country's leader for another 12 months or so — assuming he isn't kicked out of office by one of his disgruntled colleagues before then.

That gives him plenty of time to come up with even more destructive ideas. Which is a frightening thought when you look at what he's managed to do so far.

We've narrowed the list down to seven:  

1. He banned government investment in wind and solar power

It’s a bad time to be in the renewable energy business in Australia. The Abbott government recently ordered the taxpayer-funded Clean Energy Finance Corporation to stop investing in new wind and solar power projects. Abbott thinks the CEFC, which was set up in 2012 under the previous government to help finance the clean energy sector, is unnecessary.

“It is our policy to abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation because we think that if the projects stack up economically, there’s no reason why they can’t be supported in the usual way (i.e. private funding),” Abbott said.

“But while the CEFC exists, what we believe it should be doing is investing in new and emerging technologies — certainly not existing wind farms."

2. He approved a massive coal mine in rich farming land

The Liverpool Plains in northwestern New South Wales is considered Australia’s richest farming region.

So giving China's state-owned energy giant Shenhua Group the green light to build a massive $900 million coal mine in the middle of it only makes sense if your name is Tony Abbott.

This map published by the Sydney Morning Herald will give you some idea of its scale. 

The decision has outraged local farmers and lobby groups, who have described the conditional approval as “agricultural genocide.” 

Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce, who recently made international headlines when he threatened to have Johnny Depp’s dogs euthanized, broke ranks with his party colleagues by publicly criticizing the project.

"It is ridiculous that you would have a major mine in the midst of Australia's best agricultural land," Joyce said, adding the "world has gone mad.”

3. He oversaw legislation to cut Australia’s renewable energy target

Abbott pays lip service to the renewable energy industry, but everything he has done — and continues to do — suggests he thinks it is a huge waste of money.

That's probably why he fought so hard and long to have Australia’s renewable energy target slashed from 41,000 gigawatt hours of renewable energy production by 2020 to 33,000 gigawatt hours, which actually isn't so bad when you consider that the government's original plan was to cut the target to 26,000 gigawatts.

Abbott, of course, doesn’t carry all the blame for this decision — the controversial reduction was backed by the government and the opposition Labor party after the two sides struck a compromise deal.

4. He accused other countries of being ‘airy-fairy’ on climate change

If ever there was a case of the pot calling the kettle black then this is it.

Abbott said Monday that Australia would take a “strong and credible” emissions reduction target to the global climate summit in Paris later this year — but the actual target would remain secret until August.

To anyone who doubts Australia's commitment to cutting carbon emissions,  Abbott had this to say: "When we make commitments to reduce emissions we keep them."

"Other countries make all these airy-fairy promises that never come to anything," he said.

5. He abolished a carbon tax

Fact: Australia is the worst per capita polluter in the developed world.

Yet instead of trying to reduce the country’s high level of carbon emissions, Abbott made it his political mission to scrap a so-called carbon tax that penalized major polluters.

He got his way in July 2014 when the Senate voted to repeal the law that had been introduced by the previous government.

Abbott claimed that scrapping the tax would put $550 back in the pockets of the average family, which he thought would make women happy because, you know, “women are particularly focused on the household budget.”

6. He thought dredging and dumping soil near the Great Barrier Reef was a good idea

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the greatest natural wonders of the world, but that didn't stop Abbott’s government from approving the expansion of a coal port on the Queensland coast that would require the removal of millions of tons of seabed. 

While the government has since moved to ban the dumping of sediment near the reef following huge public outcry, scientists warn that dredging so close to the reef will have “substantial negative impacts on surrounding seagrass, soft corals and other macro-invertebrates, as well as turtles, dugongs and other megafauna.”

7. He believes coal is good for the planet

If you still aren’t convinced that Abbott really doesn't care about the environment, then maybe this will change your mind: Abbott truly believes that “coal is good for humanity.”

No, really. 

Abbott, who considers himself a conservationist (perhaps he doesn’t understand the definition of the term), made the remarkable comment at the opening of a multi-billion dollar coal mine in Queensland last year. 

“Coal is vital for the future energy needs of the world,” he said.

“So let’s have no demonization of coal. Coal is good for humanity.”

He went on to say: “The future for coal is bright and it is the responsibility for government to try to ensure that we are there making it easier for everyone wanting to have a go.

“It is a great day for the world because this mine will keep so many people employed … it will make so many lives better."