Coalmine expansions would breach climate targets, NSW government warned in ‘game-changer’ report | New South Wales politics
The NSW government has been warned it can no longer approve coal mine developments after the state’s climate agency ruled further expansions would be inconsistent with its legal emissions targets.
In what climate advocates described as a significant turning point in campaigns against new fossil fuel schemes, the NSW Net Zero Commission said coal mining expansion was “not consistent” with the state’s legal emissions reduction commitments of a 50% reduction (compared to 2005 levels) by 2030, a 70% reduction by 2035 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
The commission’s report on coal mining emissions says the government should consider climate impact – including “scope 3” emissions released into the atmosphere when most of the state’s coal is exported and burned abroad – in all coal mine planning decisions.
Environmental lawyer Elaine Johnson said the report was a “game changer” because it argued that coal mining was the state’s biggest contribution to the climate crisis and that the new coal proposals were inconsistent with legal goals.
She said the study also found demand for coal was falling – in line with recent analysis from the Federal Treasury and consultancy Climate Resource – and the State Government needed to help affected communities transition to new industries.
“All of this means it is no longer legal to continue to approve new coal mine expansions in NSW,” Johnson wrote on the social media site LinkedIn. “Hopefully the Ministry of Planning will take careful note of this when considering the next coal mine expansion proposal.”
The Lock the Gate Alliance, a community organization that campaigns against fossil fuel development, said the report showed changes were needed to the state’s planning framework to require authorities to assess emissions and climate damages when considering mining applications.
He said this should apply to 18 mine expansions that have been proposed but not yet approved, including two “mega-coal mine expansions” at the Hunter Valley Operations and Maules Creek mines. Eight coal mine expansions have been approved since the Minn Labor government was elected in 2023.
Lock the Gate’s Nic Clyde said NSW already had 37 coal mines and “we can’t keep developing them indefinitely”. He called for an immediate moratorium on approving coal expansions until the commission’s findings have been implemented.
“This week, several NSW communities have been battling dangerous bushfires, which are becoming increasingly severe due to climate change fueled by coal mining and burning. Our safety and survival depends on how the NSW Government responds to this report,” he said.
Questions and answers
What is net zero emissions?
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Net zero emissions is a goal adopted by governments, businesses and other organizations to eliminate their contribution to the climate crisis. This is sometimes called “carbon neutrality”.
The climate crisis is caused by carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere, where they trap heat. They have already caused a significant increase in average global temperatures above pre-industrial levels recorded since the mid-20th century.
Countries and others that set net zero emissions targets commit to ending their role in making the situation worse by reducing their climate pollution and balancing remaining emissions by sucking an equivalent amount of CO2 from the atmosphere.
This could happen through natural projects – planting trees, for example – or using carbon dioxide removal technology.
Removing CO2 from the atmosphere is the “net” part of net zero. Scientists say some emissions will be difficult to stop and will need to be offset. But they also say net zero targets will only be effective if carbon removal is limited to offsetting “hard-to-reduce” emissions. The use of fossils will still have to be considerably reduced.
After signing the Paris Agreement in 2015, the global community asked the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to assess what would be needed to give the world a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
The IPCC has estimated that this would require significantly reducing global CO2 emissions: to around 45% below 2010 levels by 2030, and to zero by around 2050.
The Climate Action Tracker found that more than 145 countries have set or are considering setting net zero emissions targets.
The alliance’s national coordinator, Carmel Flint, added: “It’s not just history that will judge the government harshly if it continues to approve such projects in the wake of this report. Our courts likely will too.”
The NSW Minerals Council criticized the commission’s report. Its chief executive, Stephen Galilee, said it was a “flawed and superficial analysis” that put thousands of coal mining jobs at risk. He said some coal mines would close in the coming years, but there was “no reason” not to approve pending applications to extend the operating lives of around 10 mines.
Galilee said coal emissions in NSW were falling faster than the statewide average rate of emissions reduction and were “almost entirely covered” by the Federal Government’s Safeguards Mechanism policy, which required mine owners to annually reduce their direct emissions or purchase offsets.
He said the NSW government should “think about why it is providing almost $7 million a year” to the commission to “campaign against thousands of mining jobs in NSW”.
But the state’s leading environmental organisation, the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, said the commission’s report showed coal mining was “incompatible with a secure climate future”.
“The Net Zero Commission has shone a spotlight on us. We must now end free pollution from coal mines,” said the council’s chief executive, Jacqui Mumford.
The state’s minister for climate change and energy, Penny Sharpe, said the commission was set up to monitor, report and provide independent advice on how the state met its legislated emissions targets, and that the government would take into account its advice “as well as that of other groups and agencies”.
