High Court upholds ruling against Mount Pleasant expansion

Australia’s High Court has upheld a ruling that invalidated approval for MACH Energy’s proposed expansion of the Mount Pleasant coal mine, finding that planning authorities must properly consider local climate impacts linked to emissions from coal burned overseas. The majority decision leaves the expansion approval invalid and returns the project to the NSW planning process for further consideration. The case concerned the Independent Planning Commission’s 2022 approval of a proposal to extend the mine’s life by 22 years and nearly double its annual output. A Hunter Valley community group challenged the decision, arguing that the commission had not adequately considered how emissions from exported coal could affect the region. The High Court upheld a unanimous 2025 ruling by the NSW Court of Appeal. It found that the commission had failed to consider whether practicable conditions should be imposed to minimise greenhouse-gas emissions, including downstream emissions produced when coal is burned. The court’s decision requires proper consideration of those emissions and their local consequences; it does not require that particular conditions ultimately be imposed.