气候活动人士谴责新南威尔士州政府为保护亨特地区 Mount Pleasant 煤矿的就业而采取的行动,称其为危险的政治干预。高等法院曾支持社区环保人士的诉讼,维持了规划机构必须评估下游排放所造成气候影响的裁定。州长明斯表示,此次一次性干预是为了避免减产并保住至少400个工作岗位,并称自己为这一选择深感纠结。Lock the Gate(锁住大门)与绿党议员 Sue Higginson 则认为,该立法将允许未经评估的大量气候污染排放。
一个猎人谷 (Hunter Valley) 的社区团体赢得了针对穆斯韦尔布鲁克 (Muswellbrook) Mount Pleasant煤矿扩建的重要高等法院案件。法院裁定,由于该州的规划委员会未能考虑如何减缓该矿山的温室气体排放,因此批准无效。该决定为新南威尔士州 (New South Wales) 的化石燃料项目树立了全国先例。Mount Pleasant的扩建将使煤炭产量翻倍,达到每年2100万吨,直至2048年,预计排放量的98%将是范围3排放。
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.