First time ever since it was elected last year on a campaign of tackling climate change, the Australian government has allowed a new coal mine.
According to a spokesman, the government was constrained by national environmental legislation when contemplating the Isaac River coal mine in Central Queensland.
Under those laws, only one coal mining proposal has ever been rejected.
Numerous scientific warnings have been that new fossil fuel projects are incompatible with long-term climate goals.
About 2.5 million tonnes of coal are anticipated to be produced over a five-year period by the Isaac River coal mine, which will be constructed close to Moranbah, about an 11-hour drive north of Brisbane.
Although a bit of mine compared to others in the state, the Australia Institute estimates that it will produce around 7 million tonnes of greenhouse gases throughout its lifetime.
Environmental organizations had urged the government to forbid the new construction because it would increase greenhouse gas emissions and harm the habitat of animals, including the koala, the central greater glider, and the ornamental snake, all of which are threatened or vulnerable.
However, the government claimed responses had yet to be made during the official consultation period when Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s intended decision was made public on Thursday afternoon.
According to a spokesman for Ms Plibersek, “The Albanese government has to make decisions by the facts and the national environment law – that’s what happened here.”
Before the development is formally approved, which typically takes a few months, the mine’s backers, Bowen Coking Coal, will have a chance to comment on any proposed constraints.
Anthony Albanese’s Labor government has entrenched a more challenging emissions reduction target – of 43% by 2030 – and secured the adoption of a carbon cap for the nation’s significant emitters since taking office in May 2022 after running on a platform of more climate action.
However, it has resisted excluding new coal and gas projects.
According to Inter-governmental Panel on the Climate Change (IPCC) of the UN, new fossil fuel projects are incompatible with Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees. It states that the infrastructure for fossil fuels must be urgently phased out.
The judgment, according to Sarah Hanson-Young, the environment spokeswoman for the Greens, showed the need for reform.
Environmental regulations in Australia are obviously broken. Polluting projects aren’t accounting for the pollution they produce, she claimed.
