The Minns government’s approval of the state’s biggest ever coal mine expansion has created a major headache for Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen after a key Pacific leader hit out at the controversial decision ahead of next week’s UN climate summit in Fiji.
The NSW Independent Planning Commission on Wednesday greenlit a 19-year extension of Yancoal and Glencore’s Hunter Valley Operations coal mine in the Hunter Valley, which it said would generate more than 800 million tonnes of greenhouse gases.
The decision came just days ahead of the United Nations’ pre-COP climate summit in Fiji, which Australia is co-hosting with the Pacific Islands as part of a broader effort to use emissions reduction and green policies as a diplomatic tool in the region.
Vanuatu’s Climate Change and Environment Minister Ralph Ragenvanu told The Australian Financial Review that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese needed to reflect on what the “deeply disappointing” decision meant for Australia’s leadership in the region.
“This decision sends the wrong signal at a critical time. As we prepare to gather in Fiji next week for Pre-COP, we need to see leadership that matches the urgency of the moment and the commitments we have made together as a region,” he said.
“Australia is an important member of our Pacific family, and with that comes a responsibility to listen to the concerns of our region.
“I urge Prime Minister Albanese and his government to reflect on what decisions like this mean for Australia’s climate leadership and for the trust we need as we head into Pre-COP and COP31,” said Ragenvanu.
Labor’s plans to host the climate summit at a total cost of about $150 million(US$103 million) have been fiercely criticised by the Coalition, particularly after the government struggled to secure RSVPs from major heads of state for its concurrent leaders’ event.
Albanese last month lashed out at criticism of his government’s attempts to lure world leaders to the event, arguing that it was disrespectful towards Pacific leaders battling to draw global attention to their climate plight.
The mine still requires federal environmental approval, and Bowen is likely to face calls from Pacific leaders at next week’s summit to exercise a Commonwealth veto.
Bowen said acting on climate change was in Australia’s national, economic and strategic interest.
“This specific approval of a mine for metallurgical (steel making) coal is a matter for the NSW government,” he said.
“We are an exporting nation – from our minerals, steel and resources to our know-how and people. We are becoming a clean energy and technology exporting nation. We’ve approved more than 150 renewable projects since we came to office.”
New Greens Deputy Leader Steph Hodgkins-May said the government needed to rule out federal approval of the mine before the COP31 summit.
“The prime minister can’t walk into the Pacific talking about climate leadership while waving through hundreds of millions of tonnes of new coal,” she said.
But NSW Premier Chris Minns on Thursday said the extension was “hugely important” for the state’s economy and would maintain more than a thousand jobs and fund hospitals and schools via royalties.
“This is the right decision,” he told 2GB Radio. “I think [the Independent Planning Commission] have made the right call here, and it would give a lot of certainty to the businesses up there,” he said.
