The proposed extension of the Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) coal mine would leave NSW children with the equivalent of more than $100,000 each in inherited debt from climate damage, new analysis has found.
HVO, a joint venture project between Glencore and Yancoal, is seeking approval to extend HVO North pit by 19 years to 2045 and HVO South pit by 12 years to 2042.
The Independent Planning Commission (IPC) is assessing an application to extend operations at HVO.
With a decision expected within weeks, analysis by Parents for Climate has found the mine's projected emissions would cause about $212 billion in climate damage globally.
The national climate advocacy group says the analysis puts a figure on how decisions made today would leave the next generation with burdens to carry.
With about 1.8 million children living in NSW, Parents for Climate say the climate damage bill globally would be equivalent to each of them inheriting a debt of almost $120,000.
"The cost of this coal mine on the children of NSW, and across Australia is unacceptably and excruciatingly high," Parents for Climate chief executive Nic Seton said.
"The pollution will come back to every family as fires, floods, heatwaves, rising bills and disrupted livelihoods.
"It doesn't matter whether it's burnt in Singleton or Shanghai, coal doesn't care about borders."
Parents for Climate say the estimated global damage shown in the analysis was calculated by applying the measure known as the social cost of carbon to HVO's projected emissions.
"For our kids, it's also about the childhood they stand to lose," Mr Seton said.
"A coal mine can close in 2045, but the pollution won't disappear. The consequences follow our children for generations after the last truck leaves the mine."
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Parents for Climate has called on the state government to recognise that new and expanded coal mines are incompatible with NSW's climate targets.
During a public hearing at Branxton in July, held by the IPC, HVO general manager David Foster said the jobs of 1500 workers were dependent on the project being approved.
An economic assessment found the project, which is widely supported within the Hunter community, would bring an overall net benefit of $5.69 billion to the state's economy.
The initial expansion plan was scaled back and amended after environment groups urged federal Environment Minister Murray Watt to reject the project, which was one of the largest coal mining ventures ever proposed in NSW.
