Independent Planning Commission’s approval of HVO coal project kills NSW net zero goals: Greens
The approval of the fourteenth coal mine expansion under the Minns Labor Government has killed any chance of NSW meeting its own climate emissions reduction targets, said Greens MP and coal & gas spokesperson Cate Faehrmann.
Glencore and Yancoal’s massive Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) Continuation Project will take operations out to 2045, and produce an estimated 809 million tonnes of C02 equivalent - about seven times New South Wales’ annual emissions pollution.
“The Minns Government is lying to the people of NSW when it says it’s serious about taking action on climate change. In fact, this Government is as bad as the last when it comes to its environmental record,” said Cate Faehrmann.
“We waited years for them to replace the Barilaro era Coal Statement, only for them to release their Coal Strategy with the big promise that there will be no new greenfield coal mines, which no one was proposing anyway. Labor’s coal strategy supports mining coal out to at least 2050 by allowing existing coal mines to just continue expanding.
“Each year, the Minns Government falls further and further behind on reaching its net zero targets. The latest report from July shows that NSW is not set to reach its 2030 target until 2034 and its 2035 target until 2042.
“The Minns Labor Government doesn’t care about climate action. It prefers propping up a dying industry with even the International Energy Agency saying that global demand will decline from 2030.
“The signs of climate breakdown caused by the burning of fossil fuels are all around us and we’re facing a super El Nino here this summer. Meanwhile the Minns Government’s love affair with coal continues,” said Cate Faehrmann.