SINCE before Kevin Rudd declared in 2007 that climate change was "the greatest moral challenge" facing humanity, only to walk away from the challenge some time later, it is as if Hunter coal mining has been divorced from global shifts on climate change.
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The boom might have ended some time ago but new coal mines are still being considered, mega-mines are getting even bigger, mothballed mines are coming back into operation and the mining industry is getting even closer to politicians predicting a continued bright future for coal.
This is despite very grim warnings to the contrary, including a continued march by financiers away from coal because of the risk of stranded assets and questions about where Australian coal will be exported to in coming years.
The Federal Government-owned Australian Rail Track Corporation's 2019 Hunter Valley Corridor Capacity Strategy charted a significant expected contract coal export decline from 2024.
Which is why it shouldn't be a surprise that the NSW Independent Planning Commission has finally linked what is happening on the ground in the Hunter to global shifts in response to climate change.
The commission is to be given credit for significantly increasing public transparency on coal and other major NSW developments by the simple method of putting all communications and transcripts of hearings on its website. It is also to be given credit for increasing public input into its decision-making.
But while its proposal for a condition of consent to the United Wambo mine expansion project linking the coal it mines to emissions generated in other countries is to be welcomed, there are also serious concerns that it is the least the commission could do, and it should do a lot more in the public interest.
The commission proposes to make United Wambo prepare an export management plan about overseas emissions using its exported coal, but giving a bureaucrat - even a senior one like the NSW planning secretary - the final sign-off is not enough, says the Environmental Defenders Office.
The commission has set an August 9 deadline for submissions about its United Wambo/Paris Agreement on climate change proposed condition. It is an invitation the public should take up.
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