The green light for the largest coalmine in NSW history is shocking proof that our governance systems are betraying Australians | Georgina Woods

The Guardian reports the following. EcoFinance is republishing it as an attributed briefing, not as independently confirmed fact, and not as investment advice. If this item is false or incomplete, the responsibility sits with The Guardian, which released it. There is no greater treachery than this failure to face up to the climate crisis. How can we now fend off despair? The Independent Planning Commission’s published reasons for approving the largest coalmine in New South Wales history in the context of mounting death, disaster and despair brought on by global heating reads like a hostage statement. In its decision , the commission accepts that the extension of the Hunter Valley Operations’ mine for a further 19 years – resulting 809m tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution – will materially worsen global warming. The panel members cite CSIRO’s finding that climate change is having a growing effect on the lives and livelihoods of all Australians and that the severity of that impact “will depend on the speed at which global greenhouse gas emission… Original link: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/01/nsw-coalmine-approval-hunter-valley-climate-crisis-lock-the-gate