October 7, 2026 - Australia’s High Court on October 7 dismissed MACH Energy’s appeal over approval to expand its Mount Pleasant open-cut coal mine in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales.

The state’s Independent Planning Commission had approved a major expansion and a 22-year extension of the mine’s operating life. The dispute centered on whether the commission followed the legal requirements for considering environmental impacts and greenhouse gas emissions.

About 98% of the project’s predicted emissions were classified as “Scope 3.” These are emissions associated with activities outside the mine’s own operations, including customers burning the coal after it is sold. The commission’s approval included no conditions aimed at reducing those emissions.

A local community organization, the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group, challenged the approval. The Land and Environment Court initially rejected its challenge, but the NSW Court of Appeal overturned that decision. MACH Energy then appealed to the High Court.

The High Court reached two important conclusions. All judges agreed that the commission had met the legal requirement to consider the development’s likely local environmental impacts. As a result, they did not need to decide the separate question of whether climate change effects qualify as local environmental impacts.

However, a majority found that the commission had failed to consider whether approval should include conditions to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions as far as reasonably possible, including Scope 3 emissions. That failure was the basis for dismissing MACH Energy’s appeal.

The ruling is directly relevant to coal producers seeking mine extensions or expansions in New South Wales. It highlights the requirement for planning authorities to consider whether approval conditions should address emissions associated with the eventual use of the coal, alongside emissions from mining operations. It does not establish a blanket ban on coal-mine expansions or require a specific emissions-reduction measure.