The future is not inevitable: judging the impact of greenhouse gas emissions in Australian climate change litigation

What is the relevance of replacement sources of coal, and the greenhouse gas emissions they may cause, to a decision on whether to approve a new coal mine under mining and environmental protection legislation in Queensland, Australia? The question is explored from two perspectives. Does the existence of replacement sources of coal have any bearing on the impact that the mine is anticipated to cause? If not, is it otherwise relevant as part of a deliberative process in balancing the benefits and drawbacks of approving the mine? To critically assess the causal perspective, insight is drawn from the Australian law of negligence and homicide and how those bodies of law deal with potential replacement sources of the same harm. Relevance to a deliberative process is assessed within the framework of administrative law and by examining the effect of permitting consideration of replacement sources. Insight is drawn from the evaluation of a number of other coal mines and greenhouse gas emitting developments at the state and federal level as well as the assessment of other environmental impacts. I argue that replacement sources are not relevant to assessing the impact of a mine on global greenhouse gas emissions levels from either perspective. The Queensland climate cases have received some attention in the literature, though minimal attention has been paid to the causal perspective and none to the deliberative approach. This thesis will contribute to the further understanding of climate change litigation in Australia.