Australia’s freshly established national environmental agency has handed its first green light to a coal project, authorising a Queensland open-cut mine to extend operations until 2055 — a decision that sharply contrasts with prime minister Anthony Albanese’s insistence that the nation takes climate change seriously. The approval, confirmed by the National Environmental Protection Agency to Guardian Australia, covers the Saraji mine operated by the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance, which will extract a further 55 million tonnes of coal destined for steelmaking. The move has drawn fierce condemnation from climate campaigners, who argue the decision undermines the prime minister’s credibility on the world stage.
First Coal Project Under New Agency Oversight
The Saraji mine extension marks a significant milestone for the agency, which only commenced operations on 1 July following reforms to national environment legislation last year. Despite its mandate to safeguard the natural environment, the body has now sanctioned the country’s latest fossil fuel expansion. An agency spokesperson said the approval carried strict conditions to protect threatened species and water resources, limiting the volume of habitat that could be cleared in the process.
BMA’s original application indicated it would likely need to clear 9.7 hectares of endangered koala habitat, 14.2 hectares of vulnerable ornamental snake habitat, 39 hectares of habitat belonging to the vulnerable squatter pigeon, and 3.1 hectares of threatened Brigalow woodland. The final approval imposed caps of 132.5 hectares for ornamental snake habitat, 162 hectares for squatter pigeon habitat, and 11.5 hectares for koala habitat.
A Contradiction at the Pacific Islands Forum
The timing of the decision has proved deeply awkward for the Albanese government. Earlier this week, at the Pacific Islands Forum held in Palau, the prime minister declared that the “entry fee for credibility” at the gathering was taking climate change seriously. When pressed about whether Pacific leaders — whose nations face existential threats from rising sea levels — had raised objections to Australia’s fossil fuel exports, Albanese denied any tension.
“No, they don’t do that,” he told reporters. “Australia is highly regarded when it comes to climate change, and the talking down of Australia does not happen from outside Australia. I’ll make that point.” He added that Pacific leaders understood the transition away from fossil fuels could not happen overnight and required deliberate strategies and policies.
Ben McLeod, a senior adviser at the Climate Council, called the juxtaposition “incredulous.” He noted that burning the coal overseas for steelmaking would release roughly 120 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere over the mine’s lifetime, against a backdrop of Australia’s current annual emissions of 455 million tonnes. “The prime minister said the entry fee for the forum was taking climate change seriously, but then we get this approval of 55 million tonnes of coal. It is hard to see how those two things are compatible,” he said.
Environmental Groups Condemn ‘Double Talk’
Greenpeace Australia Pacific labelled the Saraji decision the 37th fossil fuel project approved under the Albanese government, describing it as a “double talk” and an “affront” to Pacific leaders and vulnerable communities. Dr Simon Bradshaw of Greenpeace Australia Pacific said the move exposed a dangerous hypocrisy. “It is deeply insincere for prime minister Albanese to meet Pacific leaders here in Palau to discuss security, the energy crisis, and regional threats, while his government fast-tracks the biggest security threat to the Pacific, the climate crisis,” he said.
Dr Carol Rowston, director of Environmental Advocacy Central Queensland, warned that the extension would intensify pressure on already-threatened species and degrade water quality in the Fitzroy River catchment, particularly during flooding events. She emphasised that the cumulative impact of such approvals compounds an already precarious ecological situation.
McLeod further pointed to guidance from the International Energy Agency, which has stated that no additional coalmines are required if the world is to meet net zero emissions targets by 2050. He argued the approval demonstrated that the government’s reforms to environment laws had fallen short of addressing climate pollution with genuine urgency.
Why it Matters
This decision exposes a widening gap between Australia’s diplomatic rhetoric on climate change and its domestic actions on fossil fuel expansion. As Pacific Island nations bear the brunt of a warming planet, the Albanese government’s simultaneous embrace of coal approvals and climate leadership claims erodes trust both regionally and globally. The Saraji extension is not merely a regulatory checkbox — it is a signal about the direction of Australian energy policy for decades to come, and a stark reminder that the country’s environmental protections, however reformed, remain insufficient to halt the trajectory of emissions that scientists warn will push the planet past irreversible tipping points.
