Key facts
- Australia's High Court ruled that climate change impacts must be considered for fossil fuel projects.
- The ruling overturned the proposed expansion of MACH Energy's Mount Pleasant coal mine in New South Wales.
- The court found the Independent Planning Commission failed to consider mitigating Scope 3 emissions from the mine.
- The Mount Pleasant expansion would have doubled coal output to 21 million tonnes per annum until 2048.
- 98% of the projected emissions from the expansion are Scope 3 emissions.
- The case was brought by the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group (DAMSHEG).
Australia's High Court has ruled that climate change impacts must be considered for fossil fuel projects, in a landmark decision that overturns the proposed expansion of MACH Energy's Mount Pleasant coal mine in New South Wales. The court's 3-2 split decision upheld a previous ruling by the NSW Court of Appeal.
A majority of the High Court judges found that the state's Independent Planning Commission was required to consider, and failed to mitigate, the greenhouse gas emissions that would be generated by the mine's coal once it is sold and burned overseas. These emissions are known as Scope 3 emissions.
The expansion would have doubled the mine's coal output to 21 million tonnes per annum until 2048, with 98% of the projected emissions being Scope 3. Wendy Wales, president of the community group DAMSHEG that brought the original case, stated that the ruling acknowledges the direct connection between fossil fuel projects and climate change impacts like droughts, bushfires, and floods.
This case marks the first time Australia's highest court has considered a climate change argument in relation to a fossil fuel project. The community group, along with Wales and her partner Tony Longeran, pursued the case for over four years, having previously won in the NSW Court of Appeal after an initial loss in the Land and Environment Court.