‘A real-life moment from The Castle’: the retired Australian couple who took on a coal giant and won
An Australian couple successfully challenged a coal mine expansion in the High Court, marking a significant legal precedent. The court ruled that regulators must consider the climate impact of scope 3 emissions when approving mining projects.
Why it matters
This ruling sets a major legal precedent for climate litigation, potentially forcing mining companies to account for the downstream emissions of their products.
‘If anyone was going to take it on, it was going to be us’ … Wendy Wales and Tony Lonergan on their property in the NSW Upper Hunter Valley. Photograph: Zoe Lonergan/Climate Media Centre ‘If anyone was going to take it on, it was going to be us’ … Wendy Wales and Tony Lonergan on their property in the NSW Upper Hunter Valley. Photograph: Zoe Lonergan/Climate Media Centre Energy ‘A real-life moment from The Castle’: the retired couple who took on a coal giant and won Wendy Wales and Tony Lonergan’s four-year fight over MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant coalmine went all the way to the high court
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