Mount Pleasant open-cut coal mine near Muswellbrook is one of 18 major coal and gas proposals that federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek will reassess for its climate change impacts.
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It follows a legal bid that could lead the minister to reject fossil-fuel burning projects due to climate change.
Environmental Justice Australia asked Ms Plibersek to reconsider the 18 plans to account for their "contribution to serious climate harms". The legal group was representing the Environment Council of Central Queensland.
"Until now, former environment ministers failed to take climate change into account when considering which animals, plants and places could be harmed by a coal or gas proposal," the group's president Christine Carlisle said.
"Assessing the risks and harm of new coal or gas should account for all the evidence, including how it would contribute to climate breakdown."
The Mount Pleasant Optimisation Project received conditional approval from the NSW Independent Planning Commission in September.
It had not been granted federal approval.
Ms Carlisle said people can help ensure "environmental law accounts for the reality of climate change".
"Each of the proposals across NSW, Queensland and Western Australia are open for public comment until November 24," she said.
She said climate change threatens world heritage sites such as Kakadu National Park and the Great Barrier Reef, the Australian Alps, Grampians and more than 360 threatened animals, including koalas and turtles, and 1000 threatened plants.
"The climate impact of each of the proposed mines and gas fields will devastate Australia's living wonders. Every single one will have immense and irreversible impacts on the animals, plants and places that we want our children and their children to know and love," Ms Carlisle said.
"So we can tell Minister Plibersek why we must protect our living wonders from catastrophic climate impacts. Because this is about all of us."
Environmental Justice Australia principal lawyer Hollie Kerwin said "our client has employed a rarely used provision of the EPBC Act to make sure the application of environmental law in Australia accounts for the reality of climate change".
"Our client's legal intervention is deliberately challenging proposals across our country. There are proposals to dig up more coal, bids to stay open for decades longer, and to drill major new gas wells. The science is clear. More coal and gas would just be adding fuel to the fire we need to put out," she said.
Projects to be reassessed:
NSW
MACH Energy Australia, Mount Pleasant Optimisation Project
Boggabri Coal Mine
Spur Hill Management, Spur Hill Underground Coking Coal
Whitehaven Narrabri Underground Mine extension
Queensland
Australia Pacific LNG, Gas Supply Security Project, Surat and Bowen basins
Bowen Basin Coal, Lake Vermont Meadowbrook Coal Mine
BM Alliance Coal, Saraji East Mining Lease Project
Caval Ridge Mine Horse Pit extension, Bowen Basin
Cuesta Coal, Moorlands open cut mine
Idemitsu Ensham Life of Mine extension
Macmines Austasia, China Stone Coal Mine Project
Mount Ramsay Coal Company, Baralaba South Coal Project and Transport Corridor, Bowen Basin
Stanmore Coal The Range Project
TEC Coal, Meandu Mine King 2 East Project
Valeria Coal, Valeria Project
Waratah Coal, Alpha North Coal Mine, Galilee Basin
Whitehaven, Winchester South Project Mine
Western Australia
Woodside Energy North West Shelf Project extension, Carnarvon Basin
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