Greg Hunt's approval of Adani's Queensland mine upheld by federal court

(Climate change is both a global and wicked problem. It has been unequivocally demonstrated that fossil fuels, wherever they are from, and their subsequent burning is having a disastrous impact of the world’s climate system and so each country that extracts a fossil fuel, whatever it might be, has a moral and ethical responsibility to halt that extraction and restructure their economies to deal with the necessary and ultimately unavoidable changes. Carbon pollution and the damage it brings to the Great Barrier Reef is most certainly not “speculative” whatever former Environment Minster, Greg Hunt, might say – Robert McLean.)

The federal court has upheld the commonwealth approval of Adani’s Queensland mine, ruling that former environment minister Greg Hunt was entitled to find any assessment of resulting carbon pollution on the Great Barrier Reef was “speculative”.

The court on Monday dismissed a challenge by the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), which claimed Hunt failed to consider the impacts of the mine’s 4.6bn tonnes of emissions on the world heritage values of the reef.

The ruling prompted the ACF to call for tougher national environment laws to tackle carbon pollution from coalmines, while flagging hopes that Hunt’s successor, Josh Frydenberg, would take a “fresh look” at the Carmichael mine.

The Queensland resources council accused the ACF of running a “nonsense case” that was akin to holding the Saudi Arabian government responsible for emissions from Australian cars running on their oil.

After the decision the head of the Queensland Conservation Council, Tim Seelig, said it was time for Australia to “stop exporting climate change”.

ACF

Read The Guardian story - “Greg Hunt's approval of Adani's Queensland mine upheld by federal court.”

Just 10 companies our worst polluters - Australian Conservation Foundation

"S

adly, the Federal Government appears to be listening to the biggest polluters over the Australian people," the Australian Conservation Foundation says.

The ABC reports that the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has named and shamed Australia's top 10 worst polluters.

The story says the ACF has taken aim at the coal-fired power industry and the mining sector naming them as the most damaging in the country.

Headed: “Ten companies directly responsible for third of Australia's greenhouse gas pollution, Australian Conservation Foundation reportfinds,” the story says just 10 companies are directly responsible for a third of Australia's greenhouse gas pollution based on data from the Clean Energy Regulator.

Cousins sees the light and moves form 'the dark side'

Little by little people are seeing the light and moving from “the dark side” to help advance causes that both protect the environment and mitigate climate change.

Geoff Cousins was formerly a part of the corporate juggernaut, but has now switched to become an environmental warrior and has been appointed to head the Australian Conservation Foundation - the country's largest environmental lobby.

Deborah Gough’s story in today Age headed: “Gunns pulp mill nemesis Geoff Cousins to head ACF” tells of this move by Mr Cousins.

“Mr Cousins, a one-time consultant to prime minister John Howard, met with the conservation group's board on Monday, after initially being approached by an unnamed board member to replace retiring president Ian Lowe, who held the job for 10 years”, she writes.