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Murray Watt has approved his first coal mine as federal environment minister, granting Glencore the greenlight to extend its Ulan thermal coal mine near Mudgee by two years to 2035 to access an additional 18.8 million tonnes of coal.
The decision, which comes as the government considers its 2035 emission reduction target under the Paris Agreement, has prompted criticism from climate groups who say the government cannot claim to be serious about addressing climate change while approving additional coal mining.
Environment Minister Murray Watt faces criticism for approving a coal mine expansion in NSW. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
The federal environment minister has limited grounds on which to oppose coal mine expansions, and the government has so far opposed including a “climate trigger” to expand them to also consider the impact on climate change.
Australian Conservation Foundation climate program manager Gavan McFadzean said: “If the Albanese government keeps approving new coal projects, then its climate policy is to make the climate crisis worse.
“The government cannot claim to be taking serious action on climate change while it approves new coal and gas projects that undermine global climate action and make global heating worse.”
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Climate Council chief executive Amanda McKenzie said the approval would undermine any 2035 target the government set.
“It’s nonsensical to cut climate pollution with one hand while approving new coal projects with the other,” McKenzie said.
“If the government wants its 2035 climate target to be taken seriously, it must stop approving new and expanded coal and gas projects. Approving more coal now makes it harder to meet our climate goals, and puts Australians at greater risk of worsening climate disasters.”
A spokesperson for Watt said the approval was subject to 57 strict conditions to minimise its potential environmental impacts on nationally protected matters.
“The Albanese government remains firmly committed to action on climate change. We have taken strong action in our first term, and will continue that work now while also ensuring that there is security of energy supply as we transition to renewables,” the spokesman said.
A spokesperson for Glencore said in a statement that the approval concerns a minor change to the current mine plan to extend the operation for a further two years, providing ongoing employment for the current workforce out to 2035.
Including the extension and previously approved emissions, the mine is expected to emit scope 1 greenhouse emissions equivalent to 26.11 million tonnes (known as megatonnes, or Mt) of carbon dioxide directly from operations; 28.83 Mt of scope 2 emissions from energy it purchases; and 663.69 Mt of scope 3 emissions released when the coal it produces is eventually burnt overseas.
The Australian government has a target under the United Nations Paris Agreement to cut emissions by 43 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030, and the government says it is on track to achieve this, but is expected to announce a much more ambitious target for 2035 over the coming weeks.
The Climate Change Authority will advise the government on a target, which it has indicated would be in the 65-75 per cent range.
The direct emissions from the Ulan coal mine are not regulated under the federal government’s safeguard mechanism because it is below the annual threshold of greenhouse emissions equivalent to 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
The Mudgee District Environment Group lodged an appeal in the NSW Land and Environment Court against the NSW government’s approval of the mine in May, following the Court of Appeals overturning the Mt Pleasant Mine expansion near Muswellbrook.
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