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Queensland Conservation Council Inc. v. Xstrata Coal - decision

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An Australian state court reversed a lower tribunal’s decision, which granted an extension to Xstrata’s mining lease and denied Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) the ability to amend the conditions of the extension.  The tribunal, concluding that the causal link between the mine’s greenhouse gas emissions and harms caused by global warming is an assumption, relied on evidence that was raised in neither Xstrata nor the QCC’s case.  The court of appeals held that the tribunal, by merely informing the parties that it had become aware of documents which might be relevant to its decision, did not satisfy its obligation to afford the parties procedural fairness by giving them a real opportunity to present information or argument on a matter not already obvious but in fact regarded as important by the decision-maker. 

The Queensland Court of Appeal ordered a retrial. 

Queensland Conservation Council Inc. v. Xstrata Coal

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Queensland Conservation Council Inc. v. Xstrata Coal - decision

Risk

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector