One quiet Tuesday afternoon in September 2024, the Albanese government, through a delegate of Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, approved three coal mining projects in the Hunter Valley of NSW.

Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri coal mine expansion, MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant Optimisation coal expansion and Yancoal’s Ashton coal expansion will have a huge climate impact, together creating 1.1 billion tonnes of emissions well over double Australia’s annual emissions from all sources. Most of the pollution from these mines will be emitted when the coal is exported and burnt overseas.

Two of these mines – Narrabri and Mount Pleasant – were the subject of an epic, but ultimately unsuccessful, legal bid from our clients, a small community group called the Environment Council of Central Queensland (ECoCeQ). In a series of landmark court cases known as the Living Wonders cases, ECoCeQ argued that Minister Plibersek was required to consider the lasting climate damage these coal mine projects would cause.

‘Nature positive’ stalled

The mine approvals come as the Labor government’s “Nature Positive” legislation remains stalled in the Senate. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ruled out reforming Australia’s environment laws so the climate impacts of new fossil fuel projects must be specifically considered as part of the approval process for new projects.

During the last 25 years of Australia’s environment laws, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, 99.9% of fossil fuel projects have been approved. This is why communities have been fighting hard to fix the Act and include specific climate pollution considerations.

There are currently more than 30 further coal projects currently awaiting decision under Australia’s environment laws on Minister Plibersek’s desk, and more gas projects.

What got the green light?

1. Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri Underground Stage 3 Extension project

Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri Underground Stage 3 Extension project been granted approval to extend the life of its existing Narrabri thermal coal mine to 2044, although approval extends to 2066. The mine is in Gomeroi country, near Narrabri NSW, adjacent to the culturally significant Pilliga state forest.

The project expansion will allow the mining of 11 million tonnes per annum until 2044. The Narrabri coal expansion will emit an average of 21.5mt tonnes of CO2-equivalent a year, globally.

Minister Plibersek’s approval allows Whitehaven to clear hundreds of hectares of habitat for threatened species such as endangered koalas, critically endangered Regent Honeyeater and Long-eared Bats. In total almost 500 hectares of koala habitat will be destroyed – an area equivalent to more than 240 MCG sized sporting fields.

2. MACH Energy's Mount Pleasant Optimisation project

The Mount Pleasant coal mine is an open cut thermal coal mining operation near Muswellbrook, on the land of the Wonnarua people in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales. The mine is operated by MACH Energy. 

This new approval of the Mount Pleasant Optimisation project – allows Mount Pleasant to expand to become Australia’s largest export coal mine and mine thermal coal until 2048, although approval extends to 2058. Coal production will double from 10.5 million tonnes per annum to 21 million tonnes per annum. For comparison, the Mount Pleasant mine can now expand to a size three times larger than Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in Queensland. 

The expansion also threatens a recently discovered species of legless lizard, which was recently listed by Minister Plibersek as an endangered species.  

2. Yancoal’s Ashton coal project

Yancoal’s Ashton coal project has been approved by the Albanese government to mine coal until 2064. The Ravensworth mine complex and Ashton mine complex are neighbouring open cut and underground coal mining complexes in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales (NSW). Under this extension approval, Yancoal will be able to mine into the Ravensworth seams from its existing operations at the Ashton mine complex.

The approval allows Yancoal to mine an additional 19.4 million tonnes of coal for export. This extension will produce 6 million tonnes of carbon pollution, according to Yancoal’s estimates.

But what about the safeguard mechanism?

The safeguard mechanism is the Australian Government’s main policy for reducing emissions.

However, the safeguard mechanism doesn’t prevent companies from creating greenhouse gas pollution. In effect, companies can keep polluting, they just have to buy carbon credits – for example from tree planting projects – to reduce their “net emissions” on paper.

The issue is that carbon credits are not a valid compensation for fossil fuel emissions.

When fossil fuels are mined and burned, they release greenhouse gases that have been trapped for billions of years. Trees can only store carbon for a couple of hundreds of years, at most. So, the amount of climate-warming pollution created by mines and other facilities covered by the safeguard mechanism will – with the way the system currently works – continue to increase.

The safeguard mechanism also only covers emissions created at the mine site: it ignores the emissions from the burning of coal. By far the biggest contribution these mines will make to climate change will be the pollution created by burning the coal – and the safeguard mechanism does not deal with these emissions at all.

The climate reality

The world’s scientists and the International Energy Agency say to keep global heating to safer levels there can be no new coal and gas. Pacific leaders are also demanding Australia stop approving new coal and gas to give their low-lying islands a fighting chance.