The Hunter Valley Operations Continuation Project (HVO) - the biggest coal project ever proposed in NSW - was referred to the Independent Planning Commission today.
@LockTheGate
If approved, Glencore and Yancoal could keep digging for another 19 years, mining 430 million tonnes more coal and releasing 800 million tonnes of greenhouse pollution. This comes just hours after the NSW government accepted key findings from the Net Zero Commission: that climate impacts need to be properly weighed up in planning decisions. Now it's time to see that put into practice.
A decision is expected within 12 weeks - and the IPC will soon call for submissions and hold a public hearing in the Upper Hunter. If you've felt the cost of climate change - through insurance, groceries, floods, fires - this is your chance to make it count.
Stay tuned for how to have your say.