Decision is a significant blow for MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant coalmine expansion in Muswellbrook in the upper Hunter
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The New South Wales court of appeal has overturned the approval of the largest coalmine expansion in the state after a community environment group successfully argued the planning commission failed to consider the impact of all of the project’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The decision is a significant blow for MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant coalmine expansion in Muswellbrook in the upper Hunter and one that climate advocates say could have wider implications for future fossil fuel project proposals in NSW.
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07/23/2025 - 23:01
07/23/2025 - 19:00
Exclusive: Anthony Albanese sought ‘advice on strategy’ as federal and state governments prepared for ‘potential impacts of an adverse decision’
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The Albanese government was so worried a court case could halt native forest logging in northern New South Wales that it drew up plans to essentially sidestep federal environment laws in the event of a loss, documents released under freedom of information laws reveal.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, played a key role as the commonwealth and NSW governments worked to ensure some logging could continue in the face of any “adverse decision” and to manage a potentially volatile situation between loggers and environmentalists.
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07/23/2025 - 18:02
Move expected to help negotiations with US for lower trade tariffs on exports, but Labor says decision was made after scientific assessment
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The Trump administration has claimed credit for Labor’s decision to lift restrictions on imports of US beef into Australia, saying non-scientific trade barriers had left American farmers “on the sidelines” for two decades.
The government confirmed on Thursday morning that the agriculture department would allow imports into Australia of meat processed in the US but grown in Mexico and Canada.
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07/23/2025 - 18:01
Dudderhouse Hill in dales is thought to be one of first structures in UK to be communally constructed by humans
A rare and remarkable 5,000-year-old monument that is an example of one of the earliest visible structures in England is to receive extra protection because walkers, sometimes innocently, have been removing and moving stones.
The Dudderhouse Hill long cairn in the Yorkshire Dales has been granted “scheduled monument” status by the government, making it a site of national importance with greater legal protection.
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07/23/2025 - 15:27
Scheme rolled out Wednesday reveals intent to dismantle some environmental and land-use regulations
The Trump administration has unveiled plans to speed the development of the highly polluting artificial intelligence sector, sparking outrage from climate advocates.
Rolled out on Wednesday, the 28-page scheme pledges to remove so-called “bureaucratic red tape” and streamline permitting for datacenters, semiconductor manufacturing facilities and fossil fuel infrastructure.
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07/23/2025 - 15:10
Activists launch civil disobedience campaign in New York and San Francisco after company dropped climate vows
Seven people were arrested as hundreds of climate and Indigenous rights activists participated in non-violent demonstrations at Wells Fargo’s corporate offices in New York City and San Francisco on Wednesday, in what marks the launch of a summer of civil disobedience against billionaires and corporations accused of cowering to Donald Trump.
In New York City, dozens of protesters stormed the lobby of the bank’s corporate offices, disrupting employees by blocking the entrance and calling out what they describe as Wells Fargo’s complicity in the climate crisis.
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07/23/2025 - 13:00
GMB and Prospect say government needs greater focus on green energy amid political shift away from net zero commitments
The Labour government needs to ramp up the creation of green jobs or risk workers being tempted to vote for parties opposing the shift to net zero, two major unions have said.
The GMB and Prospect, who between them represent tens of thousands of energy workers, said there needs to be more of a focus on increasing green jobs as the fossil fuel industry is increasingly phased out.
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07/23/2025 - 10:00
As Senate establishes inquiry into the ‘human-mediated disaster’, a report is calling for more long-term action
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Scientists are warning the wildlife impacts of a marine heatwave that has driven a catastrophic algal bloom off South Australia are likely to be equivalent to those from the black summer bushfires, and demand a similar response from governments.
Experts from five Australian universities say “one of the worst marine disasters in living memory” requires rapid investigation by federal and state governments to identify any at-risk species and fund emergency interventions if necessary.
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07/23/2025 - 09:46
Landmark opinion says those that fail to prevent climate harm could be liable for compensation and restitution
States must tackle fossil fuels, the world’s top court has ruled, and failing to prevent harm to the climate could result in them being ordered to pay reparations.
In a landmark advisory opinion published on Wednesday, the international court of justice (ICJ) said countries must prevent harm to the climate system and that failing to do so could result in their having to pay compensation and make other forms of restitution.
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07/23/2025 - 09:00
Study finds that only 9.5% of fungal biodiversity hotspots fell within existing protected areas
The underground networks of fungi that underpin the planet’s ecosystems needs urgent conservation action by politicians, a research organisation has said.
Scientists from the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (Spun) have created the first high-resolution biodiversity maps of Earth’s underground mycorrhizal fungal ecosystems.
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