The Climate Media Centre reports that the High Court of Australia has ruled in favour of the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group (DAMS HEG), a grassroots Upper Hunter community group. It is the first climate change case ever to reach Australia's highest court. Read the full release on Medianet Newshub.

The High Court upheld the unanimous NSW Court of Appeal ruling that the Independent Planning Commission broke a mandatory legal obligation when it approved the expansion of MACH Energy's Mount Pleasant coal mine. The Commission did not consider how emissions from the coal the mine exports (Scope 3 emissions) would affect the local region through more bushfire risk, drought, flooding and extreme heat. The expansion would have produced an extra 870 million tonnes of CO₂, 98% of it from coal burned overseas. The approval remains invalid, and the project must go back for proper assessment.

The ruling sets a binding precedent across the NSW planning system and directly affects 17 coal proposals now in the pipeline. According to the release, it is also expected to serve as a legal template in other states and in future climate cases. As DAMS HEG treasurer Tony Lonergan put it: "This isn't the end of coal overnight. But it is the end of coal mine approvals that look the other way on climate."

Why it matters: For years, Australian governments have argued that the climate damage from exported fossil fuels is someone else's problem. This judgment rejects that argument. Planning authorities now have to take into account how a project's emissions lead to real climate harm for local communities. Communities everywhere, including here in Tasmania, are already living with more fires, floods and heat, so this is an important step towards fossil fuel decisions that count their true cost.

This win also shows what persistent community action can achieve. A small group of locals, many of them retired farmers and teachers, took this case through three levels of court over four years. Congratulations to DAMS HEG, their lawyers at Johnson Legal, and everyone who supported them.

Tasmanian Country writes about the expansion of the Low Emissions Livestock (LEL) project into pasture-based beef operations. Read more on Tasmanian Country.

This project represents a practical step toward reducing agricultural emissions in Tasmania. By utilizing Asparagopsis (native red seaweed) in lick blocks, farmers can potentially reduce methane emissions by more than 20 per cent without compromising productivity.

The trials, involving Angus stud Landfall and Clovelly Tasmania, are using real-time monitoring to track both emission reductions and animal weight gain. This dual benefit—reducing environmental impact while maintaining economic viability for producers—is a crucial component of the transition to a lower-emissions livestock sector in Tasmania.

1. Key findings: Methane abatement via seaweed supplements.
2. Project partners: TasFarmers, Sea Forest, and the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture.
3. Goal: To support Tasmania's net zero targets through innovative, pasture-based solutions.

RedBridge writes on its Substack about the new Australian Resilience Index. The index was built by Zurich, Mandala, RedBridge and Accent Research, and it scores 2,261 communities on their ability to take a hit and recover, whether that's a job loss, a health scare, a flood or a rate rise. Read more on RedBridge's Substack.

The index scores communities on three things: financial, health and social resilience. It finds that low resilience comes in two forms. In the outer suburbs of the big cities, the problem is mostly money and weak social ties. In the regions, the problem is mostly health.

Tasmania shows the regional pattern across the whole state. A quarter of Tasmanians live in low or very low resilience communities, the highest share of any state. Tasmania also has the weakest health resilience of any state or territory. Fifty-nine per cent of Tasmanians live in a community with low or very low health resilience, compared with 23 per cent nationally. Bridgewater and Gagebrook have the lowest health score of any community in Australia. Braddon has the second-weakest health resilience of any electorate. Mid-life women are also exposed: 42 per cent of Tasmanian women aged 35 to 49 fall into a low or very low resilience group.

There is real strength too. Tasmania has the strongest social resilience and the highest volunteering rate of any state. As the piece puts it, a community with strong ties and poor health needs services. It does not need to be rebuilt.

Why it matters for climate action: Floods, fires, heatwaves and rising costs will not land evenly. This index shows, suburb by suburb, which communities have no buffer when something goes wrong. For Tasmania, building climate resilience means getting health and mental health services closer to people. It also means supporting the community networks that already hold our towns together, and putting the most effort into places like Bridgewater, Gagebrook and the north-west coast.

Carbon Brief writes about the decline in global land-use emissions. Read more on Carbon Brief https://://www.carbonbrief.org/why-land-use-emissions-have-fallen-by-a-third-this-century-in-six-charts.

While fossil fuel emissions continue to climb, the Global Carbon Budget report highlights a statistically significant decrease in land-use change emissions since the late 1990s. This trend is particularly driven by a decline in permanent deforestation in countries like Brazil and Indonesia, alongside increased carbon sequestration from forest regrowth.

For Tasmania, this global trend underscores the vital importance of protecting our native forests and managing land use to ensure our natural carbon sinks remain intact. While the decline in land-use emissions is good news, it must not lead to complacency; the rapid rise in fossil fuel emissions remains the primary driver of the climate crisis.

1. Decreased emissions from deforestation and peatland loss.
2. Increased CO2 removals from reforestation and afforestation.
3. The importance of international trade regulations and forest protection policies.