High Court’s landmark climate ruling counts true cost of coal

Key points

• The High Court of Australia ruled on October 7 that the New South Wales Independent Planning Commission must consider the climate impact of exporting fossil fuels. It upheld a NSW Court of Appeal decision that invalidated the expansion approval of MACH Energy’s open-cut thermal coal mine at Mount Pleasant.
• The High Court found the commission had not considered how pollution from the coal would affect the region. The ruling means the mine’s expansion approval to 2048 is invalid, though it can operate until 2032.
• Climate activists view the decision as a landmark judgement.