The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price is among the leaders of the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) on Tuesday. That's despite news a planned extension at the company's Narrabri underground mine is being challenged in court by Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action.
At the time of writing, the Whitehaven share price is $4.88, 1.67% higher than its previous close.
Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is gaining 0.25% and the energy sector is up 2.51%.
Let's take a look at why the company's planned project – set to cost more than $400 million – is hitting headlines.
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Whitehaven share price gains despite legal challenge
The Whitehaven share price is outperforming on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the company has declared it will "vigorously defend" against proceedings brought against its Narrabri Stage 3 Extension Project.
The project was given the tick of approval from the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) earlier this year. But that's being challenged in the NSW Land and Environment Court.
Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action has initiated judicial review proceedings. It's seeking to have the project's approvals revoked on climate change related grounds.
In an ASX release today, Whitehaven noted the mine's approval process involved the evaluation of 1,775 submissions from stakeholders. Around a third of those addressed the topic of climate change.
The company also said the IPC granted the project approval after finding that emissions resulting from the extension were "permissible in context of the current climate change policy framework".
Finally, the company commented, "high quality thermal coal has an important role to play in providing energy security during the decarbonisation transition".
The Woodside share price has gained 77% over the course of 2022 so far. It's also a whopping 138% higher than it was this time last year.
