Why aren’t climate impacts considered in environmental approvals for coal mines?
Answer
When the federal government assesses and approves coal mines, climate impacts aren’t considered. This is because it is not required under Australia’s environmental law - the ‘‘Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999’ (EPBC Act) - which was made more than two decades ago. Despite this, many organisations and The Greens are working to change the Act to include a ‘climate trigger’ which would see Australia take some responsibility for our country’s major contribution to the global climate crisis through the mining and exporting of coal and gas.
