Coal exports from Australia's Queensland state hit record levels for the second year in 2015, with shipments to India up sharply despite stalled attempts by Indian conglomerates to win approvals to dig new outback mines, data showed on Monday.

The state's exports rose 2 percent to 220 million tons in 2015 from the previous record of 216 million tons in 2014, and continue to grow, according to the Queensland Resources Council lobby group.

India's Adani Enterprises, which wants to ship millions of tons of coal a year to India, has been a target of environmental opposition since starting work on a new mine in the state's Galilee Basin six years ago.

GVK Hancock, along with more than a half-dozen other companies, is also seeking approvals to dig a mine in the basin, a 247,000-square kilometer expanse in Northeast Australia.

Tim Buckley, an Australia-based director of the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said despite the increase, coal exporting countries such as Australia face a market in structural decline as India exploits more of its domestic coal reserves and switches to cleaner forms of energy. "The supply is excessive, demand is weaker than expected, the last thing we need is more supply," Buckley said.

The International Energy Agency forecasts India would increase overall thermal coal imports to 204 million tons by 2020, a 73-percent rise over its 2014 estimate.