7 July 2015, The Guardian, Bulga residents battling mine expansion hail NSW government planning decision. The NSW planning minister says a proposed amendment would give social and environmental issues equal standing with the economic in decision making. Residents in the New South Wales town of Bulga, which was previously earmarked for relocation due to the expansion of a nearby mine, have seized upon changes to the state’s planning laws as potentially crucial in their battle to prevent the project’s extension. NSW planning minister Rob Stokes has released a proposed amendment to the state’s mining environmental planning policy. The change removes a provision that makes the economic importance of resources “the principal consideration” when determining whether to allow mining projects. Stokes said the draft change would ensure decisions were made with environmental and social, as well as economic, factors in mind. Read More here
Tag Archives: Legal Action
24 June 2015, Reuters, Dutch government ordered to speed up greenhouse gas cuts: A district court ordered the Dutch government on Wednesday to cut greenhouse gas emissions faster than currently planned in a rare use of the legal system to curb global warming. A judge in The Hague said the state must “ensure that the Dutch emissions in the year 2020 will be at least 25 percent lower than those in 1990” as the Netherlands’ fair share to avert more heat waves, floods and rising sea levels.
Based on current government policy, the Netherlands will achieve a reduction of 17 percent at most in 2020, which is below a norm of 25-40 percent for developed countries, a summary of the ruling said. The decision was a victory for environmental group Urgenda Foundation, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of nearly 900 Dutch citizens. “The parties agree that the severity and scope of the climate problem make it necessary to take measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the summary said. Some saw the ruling as a landmark, if it ends up being binding. “This could be the first judicial warning shot to governments around the world,” said Bill Hare, of independent research group Climate Analytics. Read More here
24 April 2015, SMH: Metgasco wants police help for gas drilling at Bentley after court victory. Energy company Metgasco says it will need police to escort gas drilling equipment onto its site on the NSW north coast following a court victory overturning a suspension imposed on it by the state government. Chief executive Peter Henderson said protesters would return to the site at Bentley once the company seeks to start drilling in about three months’ time. “When we drill now we know there are going to be protesters and we will need police in there to uphold our rights,” he said. “Otherwise NSW will be the state of anarchy…..” Read More here
16 April 2015 The New York Times: Judges Hear Challenge to Proposed E.P.A. Rule to Curb Climate Change by Coral Davenport (They just won’t give up will they?!) “WASHINGTON — A panel of federal judges on Thursday appeared inclined to dismiss the first legal challenge to President Obama’s most far-reaching regulation to slow climate change. But in arguments before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, lawyers for the nation’s two largest coal companies, several states and the Environmental Protection Agency offered a preview of what is expected to be a protracted battle over what Mr. Obama hopes to leave as his signature environmental achievement….” Read More here