Anvil Hill development rejected
I just got this email update from Greenpeace. The NSW Land and Environment Court handed down a landmark ruling rejecting the development of the Anvil Hill coal mine in the Hunter Valley, setting a precedent for future mining projects in NSW.
Yesterday afternoon, Justice Nicola Pain ruled in favour of Newcastle student Peter Gray saying that Centennial Coal had failed to adequately consider the climate impacts of their proposed mine at Anvil Hill. The judge rejected Centennial Coal’s environmental assessment, saying it did not assess the full extent of greenhouse gas emissions from the mine, including the emissions that will be released from exported coal. The ruling will have implications for future mining developments in NSW, which will need to consider their impact on climate change.
“The judge has said that climate change implications must be taken into consideration when assessing new coal mines,” said Greenpeace energy campaigner Ben Pearson. “If this decision does for climate change what Mabo did for aboriginal land rights then this is a historic ruling; if you factor in climate change impacts then new mines just cannot be allowed to go ahead.”
Centennial Coal’s proposed Anvil Hill mine is central to the planned massive expansion of the coal industry in the Hunter Valley, which would increase coal exports from 80 to 130 million tonnes. The burning of the 10.5 million tonnes of coal that would be produced annually at Anvil Hill would emit up to 27Mt of CO2 per year; more than the emissions from NSW’s four million vehicles. According to the Stern Review, the social cost of these emissions would amount to $3 billion.
“NSW Planning Minister Frank Sartor said this morning that this is a federal matter,” Mr Pearson continued. “Passing the buck is a shameful abrogation of Mr Sartor’s responsibility to the people of NSW. Greenhouse pollution caused by coal produced in the state is the responsibility of the NSW government and they must deal with it accordingly, and that will mean making the difficult decisions. The court has recognised the link between coal and climate change and it’s time for government to do the same.
“The burning of the coal produced at Anvil Hill will be a major contributor to global climate change. Once you start assessing the climate change impacts of coal, there is no other conclusion than a moratorium on all new coal projects.”
It’s great to see the Stern Review’s conclusions being taken into account in such a critical project. It’s high time that we separate our energy production from carbon. We have the technologies and they are getting better all the time, let’s pour the money we’ve been pissing away subsidising the coal industry into these new power sources. — DS
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