NSW's Independent Planning Commission has approved continued operations at the Hunter Valley Operations North and South open cut coal mines, allowing HVO North to run until at least 2045 and HVO South until 2042. The approval comes with conditions tied to greenhouse gas emissions, including extra carbon offsets beyond the Safeguard Mechanism, a plan to maximize renewable energy use at the mine, and a Scope 3 management plan that limits coal exports to countries with climate policies aligned with the Paris Agreement. Estimates put lifetime emissions from mining and overseas coal combustion at 809 million tonnes of CO2-e. The Commission weighed that against employment and economic benefits in the Hunter region. The operator must also publish a Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Plan within six months and a Closure Management Plan within 12 months in consultation with local councils and the community. Supporters, including the NSW Minerals Council and Mining and Energy Union, welcomed the certainty for workers. Climate groups including Lock the Gate called the decision a generational failure. The full conditions are on the IPC website.
