Miners fear surge in anti-Adani-style green law suits

Coal and gas producers fear a surge in green activist law suits aimed at delaying or blocking resources projects because of carbon emissions in nations where Australian product is used.

The Adani project to produce coal for power generation and industry in India was delayed for more than a decade by ‘green lawfare’. Picture: istock

Coal and gas producers fear an anti-Adani-style surge in green activist law suits aimed at delaying or blocking resources projects using an appeal to limits on production because of carbon emissions in nations where Australian product is used.

Last week, the Queensland Land Court blocked the Galilee Coal Project proposal for a new mine in Queensland on the grounds it contravened human rights because of carbon emissions from the coal when it was used overseas.

“Climate change was a key issue in this hearing,” the court said in its ruling. “This project alone is not the difference between acceptable and unacceptable climate change.”

The Queensland suit was one of several international attempts to block new projects from the US to The Philippines.

Resource analysts fear there will be a new front opened in Australia as the federal government decides on the approval process for at least 18 coal and gas projects with a calculated economic advantage of $100bn in investment and the creation of 175,000 jobs.

The 18 projects are facing an attempt to block approval with legal action appealing to the Federal Environment Department after public submissions to the determination process closed last week.

The potential to block approvals for a mix of new and existing projects follows Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek implementing reviews after legal complaints from environmental activists based on Labor’s commitments on carbon emission cuts.

Cancellation of 17 coal projects, mostly in Queensland, and a new $45bn gas development in Western Australia are being sought by the Environmental Council of Central Queensland.

Ms Plibersek agreed to investigate 18 of 19 requests to revoke approvals for 13 coal projects in Queensland, four coal projects in NSW and a gas project in WA.

Analysis from conservative economic think tank the Institute of Public Affairs has found the total investment under threat of being banned is $100bn and potential job losses are put at 174,415.

“Scope 3 emissions” – calculated carbon emissions from the coal when it is used in industry or power generation in Japan or India – are not grounds for blocking the approvals under the existing legislation, but resource projects analysts believe the scope 3 emissions may be used by environmental activists in any judicial review if the Environment Department rejects claims aimed at blocking the projects.

The Adani project to produce coal for power generation and industry in India was delayed for more than a decade by “green lawfare” – legal claims designed to bog down the projects in court – before it was finally approved.

The IPA estimated that legal activism using section 487 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act has put $65bn of investment at risk in Australia by holding major projects up in court for a cumulative total of 10,100 days – 28 years – from the year 2000 to 2020.