澳大利亚最高法院裁定煤矿扩建批准无效 为气候诉讼开创先例

澳大利亚最高法院在该国首例气候变化诉讼案中作出关键裁决，以3-2票数推翻了MACH能源公司位于新南威尔士州猎人谷Mount Pleasant煤矿的扩建项目批准。1法院认定，独立规划委员会在审批过程中未能考虑煤炭在海外燃烧产生的范围三排放，这一遗漏使批准决定无效。1

Mount Pleasant和HVO两项煤矿项目的排放中有98%属于范围三排放。1同样引发关注的是HVO煤矿延期项目，该项目在一周前获得批准，是新南威尔士州历史上最大规模的采矿延期，目前面临相同的法律威胁。1

绿党副领导人指出："澳大利亚煤炭燃烧产生的气候损害不会在港口消失。"1新南威尔士州绿党议员Sue Higginson表示，这一判决为法律行动打开了大门，称"律师们应该立即拿着这份判决书跑进法庭"以阻止其他化石燃料项目的批准。1

针对这一裁决，反对派领导人提出了不同立场。自由党领导人Angus Taylor和国家党领导人Matt Canavan要求政府修改法律，以排除对海外排放的考量。1

Australia's High Court has invalidated the approval for MACH Energy's Mount Pleasant coal mine expansion in New South Wales' Hunter Valley, marking the country's first major climate change litigation victory 1. The 3-2 decision found that the state's independent planning commission failed to consider Scope 3 emissions—the greenhouse gases produced when the exported coal is burned overseas—a critical omission in evaluating the project's environmental impact 1.

The ruling carries significant implications for fossil fuel development across the state. Mount Pleasant and the HVO coal mine extension project, which was approved just one week prior and represents the largest extension in NSW history, each generate approximately 98 percent of their emissions from Scope 3 burning 1. NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson urged immediate legal action in response to the judgment, stating that "lawyers should be running to courts" armed with the decision to challenge other coal approvals 1. The Greens deputy leader emphasized that "climate damage from Australian coal burning does not disappear at the port," underscoring the environmental stakes of overseas combustion 1.

The decision has prompted calls from opposition leaders to reshape environmental law. Liberal Party leader Angus Taylor and National Party leader Matt Canavan have demanded that the government amend legislation to exclude overseas emissions from consideration in planning decisions 1.