Court Exempts Environment Minister From Considering Emissions While Approving Projects
![Electricity generation from coal and natural gas hit record levels last year, the IEA says](https://d.ibtimes.com.au/en/full/1802097/electricity-generation-coal-natural-gas-hit-record-levels-last-year-iea-says.jpg?w=736&f=836d3f6723dad7f8b511c5f31880a62b)
The Australian debate over environmental restrictions has been rekindled by a recent court verdict, which stated that environment minister Tanya Plibersek was exempt from having to consider emissions from projects involving coal and gas when determining which to approve.
It is predicted that this ruling will have a substantial influence on Australia's environmental rules.
Even if these projects damage protected areas, animals, and the environment, the minister was not required by Australia's present environmental legislation to take its impact on climate change into account, reported ABC.net.au.
Queensland's Environmental Council of Central Queensland (ECoCeQ) filed a lawsuit against the minister after learning of the coal mines in NSW being expanded. In the "Living Wonders case" they filed contested permissions that disregarded climate change. Despite the minister's victory and the court's identification of shortcomings in the existing environmental legislation, the decision sparked demands for a "climate trigger" to guarantee that projects in the future take climate effects into account.
The recent court verdict about two coal mine extensions -- the Mount Pleasant Mine in Muswellbrook and the Narrabri Mine in Whitehaven -- calls into question whether the present environmental rules are sufficient to combat the challenges posed by climate change, as it permits the federal government to ignore the environmental concerns that fossil fuel projects bring to protected species and habitats.
The ECoCeQ, represented by Ashleigh Wyles, conveyed their profound dismay, saying that they were shocked and "devastated" by the result.
"We're afraid this decision will open the floodgates for the minister to approve dozens of new coal and gas projects currently on her desk," Ashleigh Wyles from ECoCeQ said in a statement. "Instead of standing up to fossil fuel companies, our environment minister is standing with them in court, defending her refusal to act on the climate harm of new coal and gas mines."
The decision was welcomed by Whitehaven Coal, which said it paved the way for the ultimate choice about the Narrabri mine extension. Up to 2044, the project is expected to provide regional NSW with jobs and economic advantages.
Julia Dehn of La Trobe University Law School criticized the ruling, highlighting how inadequate the present environmental rules were to combat climate change. She emphasized a basic weakness in the legislation's capacity to address climate concerns when she pointed out that, while the minister had the option, it was not required to take climate implications into account.
© Copyright 2023 IBTimes AU. All rights reserved.