Court of Appeal in New South Wales rules on downstream effects in the case of Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group Inc vs MACH Energy Australia Pty Ltd, known as [2025] NSWCA 163.
In a significant decision, the Court of Appeal of New South Wales has extended the scope of environmental impact assessments, requiring consent authorities to consider cumulative impacts that occur on a regional or global scale, which are contributed to by a project.
The ruling, delivered by Ward P, criticised the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) for failing to engage with the essential matter at the heart of section 4.15(1)(b) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act.
The case in question, Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group Inc v MACH Energy Australia Pty Ltd, saw the Appellant successfully appeal a Land and Environment Court decision. The appeal was based on the IPC's failure to consider the likely impacts of a project's Scope 3 emissions on the locality, as mandated under section 4.15(1)(b) of the EPA Act.
Adamson J outlined potential adverse impacts of climate change in the locality that the IPC should have considered, including increased incidences of extreme weather events, increased temperatures, and rising sea levels. The decision suggests that consent authorities will need to consider the causal connection between downstream impacts and impacts in the locality, encompassing environmental impacts, such as deforestation, biodiversity loss, and water quality degradation, particularly when the locality is particularly susceptible to these impacts.
The Court of Appeal held that the IPC needed to conduct a causal enquiry into the likely impacts of climate change on the natural and built environment in the locality of the project. In response, the Court declared that the development consent was invalid for failing to consider a mandatory consideration and remitted the matter to the Land and Environment Court for further consideration.
It is worth noting that Loughlin Gleeson was not involved in the Supreme Court of New South Wales' decision in this case.
This ruling underscores the importance of thorough environmental impact assessments in the planning and approval process, ensuring that projects are developed in a manner that minimises their impact on the environment and the communities they affect.
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