An environment group will be allowed to cross-examine witnesses for a mining company that has taken the NSW Independent Planning Commission to court over a refusal of consent for a coal mine.
ExxonMobil has won a significant victory in a US climate change test case, but Minter Ellison's Sarah Barker has warned that Australian companies should not assume the decision lessens the risk of similar litigation.
NSW's Independent Planning Commission today refused consent for a coal mine and rejected claims by the industry and environment department that NSW's climate policy was an irrelevant consideration.
Two mining companies that argue they shouldn't have to offset greenhouse gas emissions could be ordered to only export coal from their mine to Paris Agreement signatories.
A company that earlier this year had a proposal for an open-cut coal mine refused partly on climate change grounds has decided not to appeal the decision.
In the first climate change judgment since the landmark 'Rocky Hill' test case, a court has warned against treating a policy provision on greenhouse gas emissions as "a magical incantation".
Highlights include court rulings in two states, NSW manuals on biodiversity assessment and floodplain risk, and new waste strategies in two states. Job listings include positions with the Clean Energy Regulator.
If Friday's Gloucester mine ruling stands, companies seeking project approvals will have to do a lot more to explain their carbon emissions abatement strategies, say leading law firms.
NSW Environment Court Chief Judge Brian Preston today refused consent for a mine, saying the greenhouse gas emissions from extracting and burning its coal are unacceptable.