Australian government overturns climate change ruling

The Australian federal government has won its appeal against a court ruling that the environment minister has a duty of care to young people when making decisions about resource projects that will emit large volumes of greenhouse gases.

Australian environment minister Sussan Ley successfully argued in the federal court that she does not have a duty of care to protect children from climate change when assessing coal, oil and gas projects. It is likely that the eight young people that bought the case on behalf of all Australian children will appeal this decision.

The latest decision is a reversal of the earlier decision by the federal court that established a common law duty of care. The children were particularly concerned about Australian mining firm Whitehaven's proposed 10mn t/yr Vickery thermal and metallurgical coal mine in the Gunnedah basin of New South Wales (NSW).

Ley has approved some coal mines since the original ruling in July 2021, including the restart of the Russell Vale Colliery and the Tahmoor coking coal mine, both in the Illawarra region of NSW. Australian politicians are under pressure to approve more mine developments, restarts and extensions, as customers in Europe and elsewhere look to diversify away from Russian coal supplies.

The success of Ley's appeal could also have a bearing on the government's approval process for oil and gas projects, with these commodities also in high demand as countries withdraw from buying them from Russia.

Canberra has also agreed to spend A$128.5mn ($92.3mn) to streamline environment protection and biodiversity conservation legislation, aiming to integrate the federal and state systems to make it easier for developers to navigate.

Argus last assessed the high-grade 6,000 kcal/kg NAR thermal coal price at a record high of $384.80/t fob Newcastle on 11 March, up from $246.45/t on 4 February and $192.60/t on 7 January.

Jo Clarke

Thermal coal prices ($/t)

Coking coal prices ($/t)