The High Court ruled that the approval for MACH Energy's Mount Pleasant coalmine expansion in Musswellbrook was invalid. The coal company's appeal was dismissed by the High Court following a 3-2 split ruling.
A majority of judges determined that the state's planning commission ought to have considered methods to lessen greenhouse gas emissions from the mine. The Independent Planning Commission neglected to consider imposing conditions designed to minimise scope 3 emissions to the greatest possible extent.
The proposed Mount Pleasant expansion would increase the mine's coal output to 21 million tonnes annually until 2048. Some 98% of the projected emissions are classified as scope 3 emissions.
The proceedings originated from MACH Energy, marking the first instance Australia's highest court considered a case based on climate grounds. Wendy Wales stated, "Today the high court has said what we have always known: we cannot dig up coal, ship it overseas, watch it drive climate change, and then pretend the consequences have nothing to do with us and won’t be felt by us."
Furthermore, Wales added, "The droughts, the bushfires, the floods – are directly connected to greenhouse gases, and massive fossil fuel projects like Mt Pleasant Optimisation simply add fuel to the fire." The community group that initiated the original case was the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group (Dams Heg).
The state government's approval of a separate modification to the mine in August would have extended its operational life by six years. Wales concluded by asserting, "We must live within nature’s limits and this ruling endorses that."
