Greenpeace Australia Ltd. v. Redbank Power Co.

Summary:

An Australian state court upheld a state council decision granting development consent for the construction of a power station. Greenpeace asserted that air emissions from the power station would exacerbate the greenhouse effect. Applying the precautionary principle, Greenpeace argued that the court should refuse development consent for the project. The court held that although application of the precautionary principle dictates a cautious approach in determining whether or not development consent should be granted, the principle does not require that the greenhouse gas issue outweigh all other issues.

At Issue: Challenge to state council decision granting development consent for a power station