Overview
- On Wednesday the High Court dismissed MACH Energy’s appeal and upheld the NSW Court of Appeal’s finding that the 2022 approval of the Mount Pleasant expansion was unlawful.
- The judgment said the planning commission did not consider imposing conditions to minimise Scope 3 emissions, which are greenhouse gases released when exported coal is burned by end users.
- The case was brought by the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group, led by Wendy Wales and represented by Johnson Legal.
- Legal experts and campaigners say the ruling establishes a binding precedent that will require planning authorities and courts to account for the climate impacts of exported fossil fuels when assessing future mine approvals.
- Locals said the decision recognises the real harms of climate-driven extreme weather and could force regulators to factor the long-term economic and environmental costs of export coal into approval conditions.