ENVIRONMENTAL groups hold grave concerns for a new piece of legislation set to come before the NSW Government on Thursday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Lock the Gate will table new analysis at a public hearing into the proposed Environmental Planning and Assessment (Territorial Limits) Bill.
The analysis is based on estimates given by resource companies regarding downstream greenhouse gas emissions for 12 proposed major gas and coal projects - including developments near Gunnedah and Narrabri - most of which are likely to be decided upon in the next 18 months.
Read Also:
Lock the Gate spokesperson Georgina Woods said the analysis showed the state government would be ignoring more than 2.1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, should the bill pass.
"More than two billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from eleven new coal mining projects and a coal seam gas field could be ignored by planning authorities over the coming 18 months if this controversial piece of legislation goes ahead," Ms Woods said.
"That's equivalent to the entire amount of greenhouse gas pollution produced by Russia in 2017 (2.1 billion tonnes).
"This greenhouse pollution is additional to the contribution our coal export industry is already making to global climate change, which is fueling catastrophic bushfires.
"When we're in an emergency like this, it's dangerous for the government to discourage planning authorities from thinking through the consequences of new coal mines and gas fields."
The organisation's analysis suggests Whitehaven Coal's proposed Vickery Coal Mine will contribute 388.12 million tonnes of downstream greenhouse gas to the overall figure, while Santos' Narrabri Gas Project is predicted to contribute 92.24 million tonnes.
"This figure includes the downstream emissions from the proposed controversial Narrabri coal seam gas field that on its own would produce a further 94.2 million tonnes of downstream greenhouse gases," Ms Woods said.
"The NSW Government introduced this bill under pressure from the NSW Minerals Council, but we can't afford to let the mining lobby dictate policy that is so important to our state.
"The NSW Government must scrap this bill and let the Independent Planning Commission do its job free from political and industry interference."
The public hearing is set down for Thursday afternoon.