The federal government has signed off on two major Hunter coal mine extension projects, saying they are needed and will support hundreds of jobs across the region.
The approvals have outraged environmentalists who say the projects will "supercharge climate change" and fly in the face of attempts to progress the nation's clean energy transition.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek approved MACH Energy's Mount Pleasant Optimisation Project and Ashton Coal Operations' Ravensworth Underground Mine on Tuesday afternoon.
Whitehaven Coal's Narrabri Underground Mine Stage 3 Extension Project was also approved.
"The Albanese Government has to make decisions in accordance with the facts and the national environment law - that's what happens on every project and that's what's happened here," a spokeswoman for Ms Plibersek said.
"These three approvals are all extensions of existing operations."
The government said the three projects would sustain more than 1200 existing jobs and create new employment opportunities in regional communities.
But Lock the Gate estimated the three projects would lock in about 1.5 billion tonnes of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions - more than three times Australia's total annual emissions.
"Through these decisions, the Albanese Government has revealed its reckless disregard for the extinction of Australian wildlife and the effects of catastrophic climate change on all Australians," Lock the Gate Alliance spokesperson Carmel Flint said.
"We are shocked that a government that came to power promising to halt extinction and act on climate change has sunk so low.
"It is shameful that a government supposedly committed to net zero emissions by 2050 has approved thermal coal mines, the most polluting fossil fuel on the planet. Australians will pay the price of this decision for generations to come."
The Mount Pleasant project will deepen part of the existing mine and extend its life through to 2048.
The mine site is one of the few known habitats of the Hunter Valley Delma (Legless Lizard), that was recognised as a new species in 2023.
The Ashton Coal Operations Ravensworth Underground Mine approval will extend the life of the mine to 2032.
The Narrabri Underground Mine Stage 3 Extension Project will extend the existing underground mining operations from 2034 to 2044.
The projects' greenhouse gas emissions will be considered by the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen under the government's climate laws.
The Mt Pleasant and Narrabri projects were among 19 coal and gas projects Environment Justice Australia, acting on behalf of Environment Council of Central Queensland, applied under federal laws to have thrown out before they had completed their full environmental assessments.
The group argued that the potential emissions from the projects should rule them out of any further consideration.
The federal approval for MACH Energy's Mt Pleasant project followed last month's Land and Environment Court ruling that upheld the Independent Planning Commission's 2022 approval of the 444 million tonne project.
It followed a Federal Court ruling in May that ruled federal environment minister Tanya Plibersec was not legally required to assess risk to the environment from the climate harm of the mine's expansion.
Denman, Aberdeen, Muswellbrook and Scone Healthy Environment Group treasurer Tony Lonergan said the result showed that both state and commonwealth environment laws were broken.
"The fact that you can approve a mine that is going to put out a bit more than three quarters of a billion tonnes of CO2 by the middle of the century just seems ridiculous," he said.
"I don't see it as anything but a loss for the community," he said.
