Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has approved the extension of three coal mines in NSW.
The mines – two in the Hunter region and one in northern NSW – have either been approved to dig deeper, or to stay open longer than initially scheduled.
Environmental advocates have criticised the Government’s decision. Plibersek says emissions from the sites will be monitored through safeguarding processes.
Coal projects
Coal is burned as a fossil fuel to produce energy.
Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere.
Adding more CO₂ and greenhouse gases to the atmosphere causes hotter temperatures on Earth.
Australia has committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Extensions
The Environment Minister’s latest round of approvals relates to three coal mine projects.
- Mount Pleasant, near Muswellbrook in the Hunter region. It’ll be able to dig deeper and stay open until 2048.
- Ravensworth, between Muswellbrook and Singleton. The closure date has been pushed from this year to 2032.
- Narrabri, northern NSW. The mine will stay open an extra 13 years to 2044.
Decisions
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek claimed the extensions were approved “in accordance with the facts and the national environmental law.”
She said emissions from the coal sites would be monitored under a ‘safeguard mechanism’.
The mechanism places a cap on emissions, which gets lower every year. Businesses have to pay extra if their emissions exceed the cap.
This covers emissions of coal extracted from the mine sites, but doesn’t include emissions from burning coal.
Opposition
Shadow Environment Minister Jonathon Duniam told TDA the approvals are inconsistent with a decision to block a gold mine extension.
Last month, Plibersek rejected the construction of a dam connected to a northern NSW gold mine. It followed concerns raised by Traditional Owners.
The decision was criticised by the NSW Labor Government as well as the Federal Opposition.
“If the Environment Minister can approve a coal mine, she can approve a gold mine,” Duniam said.
Critics
Research Director at the Australia Institute think tank, Rod Campbell, said the decision to approve the mine projects was “inconsistent with Australia’s climate goals”.
“Fossil fuel projects like these are driving climate change,” Campbell said.
Greens leader Adam Bandt condemned the approvals, saying they were a “betrayal of everyone who voted for climate action” at the 2022 election.
