Right now, coal and gas corporations are building harmful projects across Australia, without their climate impacts being considered under our national environment law. The law ignores the climate damage that any new coal, oil or gas project built anywhere does to people, places and wildlife everywhere. 

The Albanese Government has an opportunity to fix this through its environment law reforms, currently being considered by Parliament. However, the Government’s proposed reforms fail to meaningfully protect our environment from the ravages of climate pollution. This means that the 42 coal and gas projects already lined up for approval under our environment law could go ahead with no consideration of their climate impacts. 

These projects would add to the 32 new or expanded coal, oil and gas developments already approved by the Albanese Government since 2022. In total, these projects have disclosed expected annual emissions of nearly 13 million tonnes, equivalent to an extra 6 million cars on Australian roads every year.

Learn more about the fossil fuel projects the Albanese Government has already approved.

More polluting projects in the pipeline

There are at least 42 coal and gas projects currently in the pipeline for environmental assessment, with most of these actively seeking approval, and more than half of these applications made since 2023. Most are seeking approval to operate for decades, with about a third seeking to operate even beyond Australia’s 2050 net zero target. 

Unleashing millions of tonnes of climate pollution 

Estimated emissions are available for just 23 of the 42 projects in the queue for approval. These projects alone would emit an average of 8.7 million tonnes of pollution every year in the 2030’s. This is nearly equal to the pollution from all of Australia’s domestic flights every year (more than 600,000).

These estimates do not take into account downstream emissions which are released when the coal and gas from these projects is burnt – largely overseas. For every tonne of climate pollution released in Australia, the coal and gas industry ‘exported’ 12.8 tonnes of climate pollution in 2023*. Whether pollution is released in Australia or overseas, our environment suffers the same consequences.

*Climate Council analysis based on Climate Analytics 2024 and DCCEEW 2025.

Mega-polluting projects up for approval

The list of projects waiting for approval includes highly-polluting projects like:

• Browse gas project, on Scott Reef in WA, which would run for up to 44 years – to 2070. Browse would produce an average of 4 million tonnes of climate pollution in Australia every year, and up to 6.8 million tonnes at its peak – more than the annual climate pollution of Gladstone, Queensland’s oldest and largest coal-fired power station.
• Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) Coal Continuation Project, NSW, which would extend the life of one of Australia’s largest coal mines for up to 19 years, directly releasing more than 1.2 million tonnes of climate pollution every year in Australia. This is equal to more than 500,000 extra cars on the road in Australia every year.
• Winchester South coal mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, which is the largest new coal project proposed in Australia. Its environmental impact assessment documents reveal it would directly release more than half a million tonnes of climate pollution every year for up to 26 years. This is around 20 times the gross annual emissions of our Pacific neighbour Tuvalu, which is acutely vulnerable to sea level rise caused by climate change and is leading an international campaign to end the burning of fossil fuels. 

Greenlighting more climate pollution

The Government’s proposed reforms to our national environment law fail to curb climate pollution. Under the proposed reforms, the Environment Minister is not required to consider climate impacts when approving a new project – no matter how polluting or long-running it is. This is a major climate loophole that would enable more polluting projects to go ahead.

The proposed reforms also don’t require the Minister to consider whether a project is aligned with Australia’s climate targets, policies and international commitments.

Learn more about the climate loopholes in the proposed legislation – and how the Government can still fix them

Putting Australia’s climate targets at risk

Australia has just set a target of a 62-70% cut in climate pollution by 2035, compared with 2005 levels. The Government’s own modelling shows that achieving this target is dependent on a large decline in fossil fuel production. However, the Government’s proposed environmental law reforms could directly undermine our ability to reach this target, by enabling more coal and gas projects to go ahead, and millions more tonnes of climate pollution to be released. 

Even a handful of highly polluting projects, like NSW’s HVO coal mine or the Browse gas project could make or break Australia’s 2030 and 2035 targets. 

Climate Council analysis has found that if Australia does not cut its fossil fuel production, we will fall short of our 2035 climate target, if other sectors like transport and agriculture do not pick up the slack. 

The Safeguard Mechanism won’t fix this

The Government claims domestic climate pollution from new or expanded fossil fuel projects is already managed under the Safeguard Mechanism. But the Safeguard Mechanism only kicks in after a project is operating – it doesn’t decide which projects go ahead. Effective policies are needed at both steps: limiting pollution from new and expanding fossil fuel projects, and reducing emissions from existing projects over time, if and when they are approved. 

Australia currently has no mechanism to limit pollution from new projects, meaning even projects that are incompatible with Australia’s climate policies, targets, or international obligations can be waved through. 

No new coal or gas 

With nearly all of Australia’s ageing, unreliable coal-fired power stations expected to close by 2038, Australia does not need new coal supply for our own energy needs. Most of the coal from these new or expanded projects would be exported. 

Gas has a small, shrinking and short-term role to play in Australia’s energy mix, and the vast majority of gas from most recently approved or proposed projects – including North West Shelf and Browse – will be exported. Gas from Australia’s existing projects through to 2035 would be enough to meet our domestic energy needs for more than 64 years, so there’s no reason to drill for more. Expensive, polluting as is a key driver of high power prices in Australia – we need to prioritise reducing our gas use as much as possible, delivering energy bill savings for households and businesses while cutting climate pollution. The expansion of gas extraction in Australia would only add to our climate pollution and increase profits for multinational fossil fuel companies.

Now is your chance to have a say

Right now, the Australian Senate is holding an official inquiry into the Government’s proposed reforms to our national environment law – the Environmental Protection & Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. This inquiry will review the proposed reforms in detail, hear from the public and experts, and make recommendations to the Government before the laws are finalised.

Making a submission to the Senate inquiry is easy – and it’s the most effective way to have your say right now.

Appendix: The 42 coal and gas projects in the pipeline for environmental approval

Coal projects

Gas projects