Lock the Gate Alliance believes today’s ban on export coal sales from Chain Valley coal mine by the Independent Planning Commission (IPC)’s ban is an historic first for New South Wales.
The IPC applied the export sales ban as part of their two year extension to mining at Chain Valley, characterising even that as “outer limit of what can reasonably be justified in NSW’s policy context of working towards decarbonisation.”
Lock the Gate NSW Coordinator Nic Clyde said the IPC has set a significant precedent for consideration in forthcoming mine assessments.
“For the first time the NSW Independent Planning Commission has placed an explicit ban on export coal sales from a project. This is an important step and reflects the growing pressure on decision makers to take the climate impacts from coal mining seriously,” he said.
“While it’s encouraging that the Commission has acknowledged what local communities have long known - their region is particularly exposed to climate impacts due to its bushfire prone landscapes, coastal areas and pressure on water resources, they have nevertheless approved the Chain Valley mine for a further two years.”
Lock the Gate also raised concerns about the Commission’s failure to consider whether coal with a lower greenhouse gas emissions footprint could have been sourced for the nearby Vales Point Power Station, despite evidence on this issue provided by the NSW Nature Conservation Council to the Commission at the Public Hearing.
Chain Valley was identified by NSW DPHI “as one of the state’s gassiest mines”, meaning that huge quantities of fugitive methane are being emitted annually. The IPC acknowledged a high level of community concern about the climate impacts of the project, noting that climate change was identified as a high social impact in the applicant's own Social Impact Assessment.
ENDS