New South Wales’ Independent Planning Commission has approved the Hunter Valley Operations Continuation Project, the largest coal project it has considered. The decision allows mining at the Hunter Valley operation near Singleton to continue until 2045.
The commission said the mine’s greenhouse gas emissions would affect the climate, but judged that regional employment, business activity and public revenue outweighed those impacts. More than 10,000 public submissions were made during an assessment involving unions, state authorities and environmental groups.
Glencore and Yancoal, which jointly own the operation, plan to keep mining at its northern site until 2045 and at the southern site from 2030 to 2042. Georgina Woods of the Lock the Gate Alliance criticised the approval as a failure of the state’s planning system to protect people from global warming.
Please note! Comments are published by readers. The opinions expressed may not reflect the position of the editorial team. NYCT is not responsible for the content of readers' opinions and asks authors to observe moral standards, not to incite national or racial hatred, and to avoid rudeness. Think before you speak. You are responsible for your words! By publishing an opinion, you agree to the rules! If this request is ignored, NYCT reserves the right to deprive the user of the ability to leave comments.