Rising Tide Australia

Historic court case seeks to force climate change assessments of new coal mines 

19^th September, 2006 

Newcastle environmentalist Peter Gray has today lodged a court challenge against the controversial Anvil Hill open-cut coal mine on the grounds that there is no consideration of its climate change impacts. The action was taken after repeated refusals by the state government to consider the climate implications of new coal mine proposals, despite Premier Morris Iemma labelling climate change the greatest threat facing our environment and way of life.

Centennial’s current Environmental Assessment does not include a full greenhouse assessment. If approved, Anvil Hill will produce up to 10.5 million tonnes of coal a year which, when burnt, will produce more greenhouse pollution that NSW’s entire transport sector of more than four million vehicles.

Yet the greenhouse implications of this are ignored in the Government’s approval process.  Mr Gray said: “The expansion of coal exports from Newcastle Harbour is fuelling climate change which will devastate NSW. Yet the government refuses to consider this when approving new coal mines.  Our action today is designed to force the government to take climate change seriously”

“On the one hand Premier Iemma warns us about climate change. Yet on the other he allows new coal mines to open with no consideration of the climate change implications of doing so. This must stop,” Mr Gray said. 

 Background to the project

• Centennial Coal has proposed to establish an open cut coal mine, known as Anvil Hill, in the Wybong area, near Muswellbrook
• The mine is forecast to produce up to 10.5 million tonnes of coal per year, and last for 21 years – making it one of the largest coal mines in NSW
• Anvil Hill has been registered as a Major Project under the new and controversial Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 19179 (EP&A Act) which sought to substantially reduce environmental and other controls on development
• The Environmental Assessments (required under Part 3A) is currently on public exhibition.
• Anvil Hill is a key component of the expansion of the coal export industry in the Hunter, and a driver of development of a third coal export terminal in Newcastle harbour.
• Assessment was required to include “an assessment of the potential impacts of the project” and yet expressly excludes assessment of the cumulative greenhouse gas emissions likely to be caused by the project.
• Over the life of the mine, it is estimated that 27,000,000 tonnes of CO₂ a year will be released into the atmosphere from the coal extracted there, more than greenhouse emissions from NSW’s transport sector.
• Around 60% of the coal extracted from Anvil Hill is intended for export.  
• Mr. Gray has submitted that the proposed Anvil hill mine must not be approved due to the fundamentally unacceptable and irreparable harm that it will inflict upon the environment, economy and population of NSW.