Up to 19 major coal and gas proposals in Australia could be forced to be assessed for potential damage to species and environments, through their impacts on climate change, if a new legal application is successful.
Key points:
- An environmental group argues that 19 major coal and gas projects could damage species and sites protected by environmental law
- The minister is being asked to overturn decisions that projects should not be assessed for possible damage from aggravating climate change.
- Fossil Fuel Industry Pressure Group APPEA says its members take emissions responsibilities seriously
According to one expert, if the application goes to court, it can set a precedent, forcing for the first time to consider climate change in assessments of fossil fuel projects under Australian federal environmental laws.
The Central Queensland Environment Council (ECCQ) has written to Federal Minister for the Environment Tanya Plibersek, formally asking her to reconsider how 19 coal and gas project approvals are assessed under federal environmental law, and to consider the broader effects of climate change and how emissions from these projects could harm the environment.
Represented by lawyers from Environment Justice Australia, the environmental group argues that these 19 coal and gas projects could damage 2,121 issues of national environmental importance, including the Great Barrier Reef, koalas and dugongs.
The ECCQ argues that coal and gas projects will worsen climate change, affecting thousands of species and environments. (Reuters: Jason Lee)
ECCQ President Christine Carlisle explained what her group was looking for.
“We ask the minister to reconsider these assessments in light of the huge amount of evidence we have given her on the impact of climate change on issues that she needs to take into account,” Carlisle said.
Projects subject to legal applications include the Whiteraben Narrabri Coal Mine, the Clive Palmer Waratah Coal Mine, and the Woodside North West Shelf Project Extension.
Some of the decisions (about what kind of impacts the projects could have) were made by ministers or their representatives a decade or more ago.
Australian Environmental Justice lawyer Hollie Kerwin, who represents the environmental group, said times had changed since previous decisions were made.
“We are asking [the minister] to reconsider the decisions that were made some time ago, often in periods when the government did not take proper account of science on climate change, ”Ms Kerwin said.
Damian Dwyer, the acting executive director of the Australian Oil Production and Exploration Association (APPEA), said Australia’s federal environmental laws needed to be simplified to benefit both the environment and businesses.
And he said the industry was taking action to reduce its emissions.
“APPEA members take their responsibilities to reduce emissions seriously, the oil and gas industry has always been committed to protecting the environment and members comply with a number of regulations and laws to do so.” , said Dwyer.
‘Part of our essence’
Quandamooka man Darren Burns is the land and sea manager of the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation, which has partnered with the Queensland government to conserve dugongs.
He says climate change is devastating traditional lands and waters around Minjerribah / Stradbroke Island.
“Dugongs are part of our essence. We’re saltwater people,” Burns said.
Quandamooka man Darren Burns says traditional lands and waters have been devastated by climate change. (ABC News: Chris Taylor)
“The dugong numbers are very low this year, we believe, due to the floods that have occurred.”
As the climate warms, the atmosphere is able to contain more water, which translates into more abundant rainfall. Heavy rains and floods can drag sediments into the water, suffocating seaweed, the dugongs ’main food source.
Mr. Burns also sees other changes.
“We see that mangroves are changing around here. As you know, mangroves are the nurseries of the bay.”
Darren Burns says dugong figures have been “very low” this year around Minjerribah / Stradbroke Island. (Supplied by: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority)
What exactly does the group ask for?
For each of the proposed projects, previous Environment Ministers have already made a decision on which endangered species, World Heritage sites and other “issues of national environmental importance” may have a significant impact.
These are the potential damages to those species and places that must be evaluated by the councilor, or her delegate, when she considers the final approval of the projects, and what conditions can be set for any approval.
However, in each of the 19 projects, no assessment is currently required of how their activities would contribute to climate change, nor of the effects of the flow on thousands of other environmental issues of concern, currently federal environmental law.
The ECCQ has written to the federal Minister of the Environment, Tanya Plibersek. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)
The letters call for these decisions to be ‘reconsidered’, under a mechanism little used in Australia’s federal environmental laws.
If the application has been submitted correctly, Ms Plibersek must now consult with other ministers and states and invite the public to comment on the application.
“For many, many, many of these pending coal and gas projects that are on the minister’s desk, climate change and the risk of climate change driven by the new extraction of fossil fuels in all these living wonders, it has never been properly taken into account, “Ms Kerwin said.
To be successful, the group’s application must contain “substantial new information” about the proposals.
To meet this requirement, in addition to 19 letters arguing the legal case for reconsideration, the team attached more than 3,000 pages of documents setting out how climate change will affect these 2,121 species and sites, as well as two reviews. scientific experts.
The documents provide evidence that 366 threatened animal species, 1,048 threatened plant species, 17 World Heritage sites, 74 threatened ecological communities and 133 protected migratory species could be affected by climate change, as well as many more marine protected areas, RAMSAR wetlands and others. issues of national environmental importance.
Among the documents the environmental group says constitute new information is the mapping of the impacts of black summer forest fires on environments and species protected by federal environmental law.
They conclude that it is an “inescapable” conclusion that hundreds of species will be affected by climate change, which will be exacerbated by coal and gas projects.
Possible precedent
Kerwin said that if the minister agrees with her client, this could have implications for future coal and gas projects.
“Then it is possible that, if another new gas and coal project is reached, she will also apply the same analysis and the same decision to this new project. [proposal]”she said.
And, if the minister does not agree with the arguments put forward by the team, she said, it was possible – in some circumstances – for the decision to be reviewed by a court.
University of Sydney climate specialist Laura Schuijers said that if the matter went to court and was in favor of the environmental group, it could set an important precedent.
The ECCQ wants the new Labor government to reconsider approval decisions made in the past. (ABC News: Brendan Esposito)
“It would expand the scope of what is required in the impact assessment for projects that are considered to make a material contribution to climate change,” he said.
Ms Carlisle said the application was being prepared last year, long before they knew who would be in government.
In a statement to the ABC, Ms Plibersek said she had received “a series” of requests for reconsideration.
“I will ask my department to carefully examine each to see if it meets the legislative requirements for a request for reconsideration,” he said.
Posted 1 hour ago 1 hour ago dig. July 10, 2022 at 19:00, updated 34 m ago 34 minutes ago dig. July 10, 2022 at 7:55 p.m.