The Australian Greens are calling on the Federal Government to rule out approval for the Hunter Valley Operations coal mine expansion before the COP31 climate summit.
The project, approved by the NSW Government, would allow approximately 429 million tonnes of coal to be mined through to 2042 and 2045 across its two mine continuations. The State’s Independent Planning Commission has found the project could result in 809 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from local mining operations and overseas coal combustion. The project still requires federal environmental approval before it can proceed.
The decision comes days before the Pacific Pre-COP begins in Fiji and Tuvalu on 5 October, an event intended to help shape priorities ahead of the November climate negotiations, where Australia will serve as President of Negotiations for COP31.
Greens assistant spokesperson for climate and energy, Senator Steph Hodgins-May, said the decision was now a test of the Federal Government’s climate credentials.
“New South Wales has given the biggest coal expansion ever proposed in the state its tick of approval and now it’s sitting on [the Prime Minister’s] desk,” she said.
She said the Prime Minister could not claim climate leadership in the Pacific while approving new coal projects, and pointed to Australia’s signing of the Belém Declaration at the last climate summit, which supported a transition away from fossil fuels.
“Labor is set to fail yet another climate test unless it rejects Hunter Valley coal,” she said.
