‘Lawyers should be running to courts’ to stop coal approvals after landmark ruling, NSW MP says

Australia's High Court has ruled that the approval of MACH Energy's Mount Pleasant coalmine expansion in NSW's Hunter Valley was invalid. The court found the Independent Planning Commission failed to consider conditions to minimize greenhouse gas emissions from the coal's eventual burning overseas (scope 3 emissions). This landmark decision, Australia's first climate change high court case, sets a precedent for fossil fuel projects, with advocates urging lawyers to use the ruling to challenge future coal approvals. Federal opposition leaders criticized the decision as a threat to energy exports and called for legal amendments, while the federal climate change minister stated respect for the court's interpretation.

Australia's High Court has ruled against the expansion of the Mount Pleasant coal mine in New South Wales. The court found that planning authorities failed to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions from the expansion would be minimized to the greatest extent practicable. This decision, brought by retired teachers Wendy Wales and Tony Lonergan, is seen by campaigners as setting a binding national precedent requiring climate damage to be considered for future fossil fuel projects. The mine's operator, Mach Energy, had sought to extend the mine's life and nearly double its output, arguing that emissions from coal burned overseas could not be directly linked to local environmental effects.

Australia's High Court has ruled that the approval of MACH Energy's Mount Pleasant coalmine expansion in Muswellbrook, New South Wales, was invalid. The Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group brought the case, arguing the Independent Planning Commission failed to consider the greenhouse gas emissions generated when the coal is burnt overseas (scope 3 emissions). In a 3-2 decision, the court found the commission should have considered mitigating these emissions. This landmark ruling, the first of its kind in Australia to consider climate change, sets a precedent for future fossil fuel projects in NSW. MACH Energy expressed disappointment but accepted the decision, stating they would review its implications.