News from a National Environment group

CCS is local, but we gather news from so many other environment groups, local and national, one newsletter that just came in is from the Environment Defenders Office. In brief, here are some wins.

This one in the Hunter Valley in NSW

The original HVO Optimisation Project proposal was to extend the life of two adjacent mines in the Upper Hunter by up to 25 years to 2045 and 2050. Under the now-withdrawn proposal, the company would be permitted to extract 400 million tonnes of coal, which when burned would have added 1.16 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent to the atmosphere. Challenged by EDO, they have currently walked away from this before it went before a federal judge. No doubt it is not the end, they will be back with a new proposition.

Santos has been accused of “greenwashing”

The Federal Court has begun hearing the Australian Centre for Corporate Responsibility’s (ACCR) historic greenwashing lawsuit against gas giant Santos.

Quantas also accused of “greenwashing”

EDO client Climate Integrity has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to investigate Qantas for alleged greenwashing following sweeping regulatory action in the EU. The complaint focuses on its ‘fly carbon neutral’ product, promotion of ‘sustainable aviation fuels’

Koala habitat cleared unlawfully

The Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) has condemned Vitrinite for potentially illegally clearing over 47 hectares of koala habitat and the mining of coal at the proposed Vulcan South coal mine site without federal approval.
Vitrinite’s application to build the Vulcan South coal mine is still going through Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act assessment, but they have cleared within this area for a test mine.
This action could violate the EPBC Act and would carry potential criminal penalties, including up to seven years in prison and fines exceeding $657,300.

There is a lot going on out there, including locally. CCS committee is ageing and need to move with the times. We are very keen to see CCS continue into the future, if you are interested in attending a meeting please contact us via [email protected]

November 5, 2024 · Liz Sanzaro · No Comments
Posted in: General