FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
30 September 2026
Australia – The NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) has approved the largest coal mine expansion ever proposed in New South Wales – Glencore and Yancoal’s Hunter Valley Operations Continuation Project (HVO).
350.org Pacific and other communities made over 4000 submissions opposing the extension, which will release 800 million more tonnes of climate pollution. The catastrophic level of emissions will drive already intensifying climate disasters in the Pacific, with the world already set to exceed the 1.5 degree limit in the next decade.
Jacynta Fa’amau, 350.org Campaigner said,
“We are horrified. I joined thousands of others in submitting our objection to this carbon bomb, but our testimonies have fallen on deaf ears. It’s not just the Pacific that will suffer. The science has made it very clear that whether Australia burns its coal at home or overseas, the wildfires, floods and droughts will remain at their front door. The billions will sit with Glencore while the fallout will land on everyday people.”
The project still requires Australian federal environmental approval, with the Albanese Government just days from leading as COP31 President of Negotiations at the Pre-COP minister meetings in Fiji. Pacific leaders have made it clear that keeping the 1.5 degree limit within reach is a top priority, and Australian coal expansion continues to undermine the scientific, legal and moral requirements to limit global warming.
Fenton Lutunatabua, 350.org Pacific & Caribbean Program Manager said:
“We are days away from Pre-COP in Fiji, and Australia will unfortunately enter these discussions with an 800 million-tonne shadow over them. Every promise from Australia will be measured against their decisions to either lock us into decades of climate pollution, or shut down coal expansion once and for all. It’s not rocket science – you cannot come to the Pacific, witness the severity of our climate impacts, and go home and approve a giant coal mine. We will be watching very closely.”
Fenton Lutuanatabu and Jacynta Fa’amau will be on the ground at Pre-COP31 in Nadi, Fiji, and available for interviews.
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