【Drama Archives】

Round of applause,Drama Archives Australia.

You're not only ranked fifth last out of 58 countries in the latest climate change performance index -- you're also the "Fossil of the Day."

As spotted by the Guardian, the joke award was handed out Wednesday by the Climate Action Network (CAN), which distributes the award to countries acting in the worst interests of the environment.

Australia scored the prize after the country's Energy and Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg was heard complaining to U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz about American charities working against Adani's $16 billion coal mine at the COP 22 talks in Marrakech. Chatting coal at a climate conference -- good job, everyone.

"Our first Fossil of the Day award goes to...Australia for making ugly complaints about dirty baggage," the group wrote. "Australia ratified the Paris Agreement last Friday, so lobbying for coal expansion at the United Nations climate negotiations is an ugly, ugly thing to be doing."

A spokesperson for the minister confirmed the conversation took place to Mashable.

"The Government is concerned by reports that activists both here and overseas are seeking to frustrate certain developments with vexatious litigation through the courts," he said in an email.

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Adani's Carmichael coal mine, if completed, would be among the world's largest. It has been the focus of an intense lobbying campaign from environmental groups, which also call for the end of approvals for all new coal mines. A significant number of high-profile banks and financial groups have refused to invest in the project.

Given the pace of global warming, the Queensland government's approval of the Adani mine has been condemned by scientists as akin to "bringing gasoline to a house fire."

Frydenberg's complaint comes after it was revealed The Sunrise Project, a local environmental charity, had received support from an American organisation for its fight against the mine, which the government has touted as a job-creator for the region.

The connection was made public in emails forwarded to the Democratic Party operative John Podesta and released by WikiLeaks.

"It is no surprise that the ongoing expansion of coal mining in Australia is on the radar of Clinton's most senior advisor," executive director of The Sunrise Project, John Hepburn, said in a statement after its ties to the U.S. Sandler Foundation were reported in the Australiannewspaper.

"While the world is ratifying the Paris Climate agreement in record time, Australia is becoming a global embarrassment for being the first developed country to go backwards on climate policy."

Australia ratified the Paris Agreement Thursday, but the global deal to reduce emissions has been thrown into doubt after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would "cancel" it.

"If Adani's proposed giant Carmichael mine is ever built, it will wipe out Australia’s efforts to reduce pollution under the Paris Agreement," Australian Conservation Foundation's CEO Kelly O'Shanassy said in a statement.

Australia's conservative government still backs the Adani project. "Australia has extremely rigorous and effective environmental laws which seek to simultaneously promote investment and jobs while protecting the environment," Frydenberg's spokesperson added.

Austria and New Zealand, two countries often unfairly confused with Australia, also received Fossil of the Day prizes.

Thursday saw Australia ranked fifth last out of 58 countries for its action (or inaction) on climate change in the climate change performance index released at COP 22.

The country ranked only above Korea, Kazakhstan, Japan and Saudi Arabia, and well below nations such as France and the UK.