The NSW Minns Government quietly approved another coal mine expansion - Glencore’s Ulan project near Mudgee - at the very same time as NSW was at the epicentre of devastating record flooding supercharged by the burning of fossil fuels.
This is the fifth coal mine expansion approved by the NSW Labor Government. The estimated total greenhouse emissions from all five projects is 335 million tonnes of climate pollution (lifetime) which equates to about three times NSW’s total annual emissions from all sources.
The Ulan Modification 6 project has been approved despite the fact that it is seeking approval for a mine expansion that will occur from 2033-2041, an even though the Net Zero Commission has found NSW is not on track to meet either its 2030 or 2035 target.
Lock the Gate Alliance NSW Coordinator Nic Clyde said, “While people were stranded on rooftops, or being rescued from floodwaters by dinghies, the Minns Government ticked off on a fifth coal mine expansion that will fuel yet more climate chaos.
“The approval of Glencore’s coal mine expansion, which won’t even start until 2033, shows an extraordinary disregard for NSW climate targets and for local communities on the frontlines of climate disaster.
“More coal mine expansions mean more extreme weather events causing more harm and are making it harder for communities to bounce back. They mean higher insurance bills, and higher clean up bills for the state.
“Research shows that NSW is in the top 10% of jurisdictions globally that is most vulnerable to physical risks from climate change, but the NSW Government is pandering to multinational coal companies and forcing NSW communities to pay a terrible price.”
Rosemary Hadaway, President Mudgee District Environment Group said, “The decision to approve the Ulan Modification 6 is based on very poor cost benefits analysis while allowing cumulative impacts on threatened species, water sources, Aboriginal cultural heritage and fueling more climate change.
“Glencore will clear critically endangered nature to make way for this coal mine expansion. The ongoing loss of critically endangered bushland, sandstone cliff-lines and threatened species habitat in the Mudgee region through coal mine expansion cannot be adequately offset and is leading to a regional extinction crisis.
“The NSW Government is failing to meet biodiversity protection and net zero emissions targets. The approval of Ulan Mod 6 is a failure of the planning system, and as the flooding disaster shows, a failure of the government to act in the community’s best interests.”
ENDS
Table: Lifetime run of mine (ROM) coal and GHGs approved to date by Minns Gov’t
|
Project |
Date approved |
Total GHGs (lifetime) Mt CO2-e |
Approval until |
Additional ROM coal approved (Mt) |
|
22/01/24 |
63 |
3 yrs |
28 |
|
|
01/07/24 |
3 |
2026 |
2 |
|
|
16/04/25 |
193 |
4 yrs |
90 |
|
|
24/04/25 |
35 |
18 months |
18 |
|
|
22/05/25 |
42 |
2 yrs (2033-2035) |
19 |
|
|
Totals |
335 |
157 |