Parents for Climate has condemned the IPC's approval of the full 19-year Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) coal extension, saying the decision locks in decades more climate pollution while offering no guarantee of long-term economic security for Hunter workers and families.
The extension will allow mining at HVO to continue into the 2040s and is projected to generate approximately 809 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Parents for Climate analysis estimates those emissions would cause around $212 billion in global climate damage, equivalent in scale to almost $120,000 for every child living in NSW today.
Parents for Climate said the decision follows months of intense political and industry pressure surrounding the IPC process. The organisation said the independence of the Commission must continue to be respected regardless of whether governments, industry or advocates agree with individual decisions.
Parents for Climate CEO and father of two Nic Seton said: “This is a catastrophic failure to plan, and our children will pay the price. The Hunter has been left without the properly funded transition it has needed for years, while another generation of children has been handed the climate bill of another 19 years of coal. This project means our kids will inherit even more heatwaves, floods, fires and drought and economic burden whilst coal companies count their multi-billion dollar profits, that is completely unfair.”
“For HVO workers and their families who have spent months worrying about their jobs and livelihoods, there may understandably be relief today. But a 19-year mine approval is not a 19-year job guarantee. Coal markets change, companies change their plans and mines can close early.
“Real economic security for Hunter families doesn't come from another date on a coal approval. It comes from having good, secure jobs and new industries ready before coal companies decide mining no longer stacks up.
“Glencore and Yancoal have already had more than two decades to prepare for HVO's eventual transition. Today's approval cannot become an excuse to waste another 19 years. They must start planning now, put real money behind supporting their workforce and give workers clarity about retraining, redeployment and pathways into secure employment beyond coal.
“The Hunter has powered NSW for generations. Its workers deserve better than being told their economic security depends on continuing to approve projects that damage the future their own children will inherit.
“Approving HVO is not a plan for the Hunter's future, and it does not guarantee the Hunter's economic security. Glencore and Yancoal must not use today's approval as permission to postpone serious transition planning, and the NSW Government cannot spend another 19 years avoiding the difficult work of building what comes next.
“The cost of this coal mine on the children of NSW, and across Australia is unacceptably and excruciatingly high. This isn't an abstract climate bill. Families will experience it through worsening fires, floods and heatwaves, rising bills and disrupted livelihoods.
“No parent would knowingly hand their child a $120,000 inheritance debt for something they didn't buy and won't benefit from. Today, that's exactly what decision-makers have chosen to do.
“There is something fundamentally wrong with an economic argument that counts the potential revenue from coal but leaves out the costs NSW families and their children will be forced to carry. Separate analysis has found that once higher carbon costs are accounted for, they can almost entirely wipe out HVO's claimed $5.71 billion net economic benefit to NSW.
“We respect the role of an independent planning process, even when we profoundly disagree with its decision. The IPC has faced enormous scrutiny throughout this process and its independence matters. Governments, political parties and powerful industries cannot support independent decision-making only when they like the result.
“A coal mine can close in 2045, but the pollution won't disappear. The consequences follow our children for generations after the last truck leaves the mine.
“Parents spend their lives trying to leave their children better off than they were. Today, NSW has done the opposite.”
Parents for Climate said the approval must not be mistaken for long-term economic security for the Hunter. Coal markets and company decisions can change well before planning approvals expire, making immediate transition planning essential regardless of HVO's new end date.
Parents for Climate is calling on Glencore and Yancoal to immediately disclose and properly fund their plans to support HVO workers through eventual closure and rehabilitation, including retraining, redeployment, financial guidance and pathways into new employment.
The organisation is calling on the NSW Government to pass the Future Jobs and Investment Authority Bill and commit at least $150 million a year to a properly funded transition for coal communities, and on the Federal Government to extend transition protections to export coal mine workers, including enforceable obligations on coal companies to prepare for closures and support their workforces.
Parents for Climate said the approval does not change the fundamental challenge facing NSW: coal markets are changing while the climate costs of continued expansion continue to grow. Another 19 years on a planning approval cannot substitute for preparing workers and communities for what comes next. Glencore, Yancoal and governments must start that work now rather than waiting for markets to make the decision for Hunter communities.
Core Facts and Figures:
The following figures relate to the full 19-year HVO continuation proposal and its projected impacts.
- $212 billion: Parents for Climate analysis estimates HVO's projected emissions carry around $212 billion in indicative global climate damage.
- Almost $120,000 per NSW child: Equivalent in scale to almost $120,000 for each of the approximately 1.8 million children living in NSW today.
- 809 million tonnes: Estimated greenhouse gas emissions over the proposed HVO continuation project's lifetime.
- $17 to $1: Projected annual natural hazard costs in NSW by 2050 are more than 17 times the state's current annual coal royalty revenue.
- Separate analysis from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis has also questioned the economic case for HVO. Under one carbon-cost scenario, the emissions cost reached $5.64 billion, almost entirely wiping out HVO's assessed $5.71 billion net economic benefit to NSW.