Published 4 hours ago • loading... • Updated 24 minutes ago
Australia's High Court Rules Against Coal Mine in Landmark Climate Case
On Wednesday, the High Court dismissed MACH Energy's appeal, upholding a lower court ruling that the Mount Pleasant coal mine expansion approval violated environmental planning laws.
Retired teachers Wendy Wales and Tony Lonergan, representing the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group , challenged the project, which sought to double yearly output to 21 million tonnes.
Judges ruled the Independent Planning Commission breached s.4.15 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 by failing to evaluate how exported coal pollution affects local climate risks through bushfires, drought, and flooding.
Following the judgment, the Mount Pleasant expansion approval remains invalid and must be referred to the NSW Land and Environment Court or the IPC for reassessment of the project's local climate impacts.
Across the NSW planning system, the ruling establishes a binding national precedent, directly affecting 17 coal proposals in the pipeline and creating a template for future climate litigation across Australia.
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, the Australian High Court opposed an extensive plan to extend an open coal mine north of Sydney due to the climatic consequences of the project, a victory for environmental activists.