High Court ruling in coal court case spooks miners

Key points

• The High Court has ruled that planning authorities must consider climate impacts of downstream emissions when reviewing projects, in a case involving a coal mine expansion in NSW's Hunter region.
• The 3-2 split decision upheld a state appeals court ruling, with Justice James Edelman citing expert estimates that the project would be one of the 650 largest greenhouse gas-emitting projects worldwide.
• The mining industry fears the judgment's wider implications, while the NSW government has sought to reassure the sector that coal mine extensions can still be approved.