Australia's highest court has ruled that the approval of MACH Energy's Mount Pleasant coalmine expansion in NSW's Hunter Valley was invalid, in a landmark decision that sets a precedent for fossil fuel projects in the state. The judgment, delivered on Wednesday, marks the nation's first climate change high court case.
Landmark ruling against coalmine expansion
In a 3-2 split ruling, the high court found that the state's Independent Planning Commission (IPC) failed to consider imposing conditions to minimise greenhouse gas emissions that would be generated by the mine when the coal is sold and burnt overseas. Known as scope 3 emissions, these are not counted in Australia's domestic tally.
The coal company brought the high court case after a local community group, the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group (Dams Heg), halted the coalmine expansion on climate grounds in the NSW court of appeal.
Political reactions and implications
Deputy Greens leader Steph Hodgins-May commented: "For too long, big coal and gas companies have tried to pretend that the emissions from their products are someone else's problem once they leave Australian shores. They're not."
"When Australian coal is burned overseas, the climate damage doesn't magically disappear at the port. It comes back to communities here through worsening heat, drought, bushfires and floods," she added. "This judgment sends a clear message to governments and fossil fuel companies that the climate impacts of their projects cannot simply be ignored or pushed down the line."
NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson, formerly a public interest environmental lawyer, said the high court judgment could lead to "significant legal difficulty" for the Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) coalmine extension, which was approved by the IPC a week ago. For both the HVO and Mount Pleasant coal developments, 98% of the emissions were scope 3 emissions, Higginson said.
"HVO's environmental impact statement didn't even account for scope 3 emissions at all, and the high court has been crystal clear that consent authorities must ensure emissions are minimised to the greatest extent practicable. It seems clear that the approval of HVO fails this test," she said. "Lawyers should be running to the courts right now with this judgment in hand, ready to stop coal approvals in their tracks."
Government responses
In a joint statement, Liberal leader Angus Taylor and Nationals leader Matt Canavan described the decision as a threat to "Australia's standing as a reliable energy exporter" and said the federal and NSW governments "must act immediately to fix the law". They argued that the Minns government should amend NSW's environmental planning and assessment act to "make clear that overseas emissions from Australia's exported resources are not a consideration in project approvals".
Climate change minister Chris Bowen, in Fiji where he is chairing climate negotiations, said: "The law of the land is law of the land, as interpreted by the high court, and we respect that." Murray Watt, the federal environment minister, said the decision "doesn't automatically transfer to commonwealth decisions or commonwealth legislation". The NSW government was contacted for comment.
