AT first glance, the state government's new "strategic statement on coal exploration and mining in NSW" looks like an attempt to navigate a middle course between the extremes of the energy debate, and to recognise the realities of the Paris Agreement.
The statement's introduction talks of the government "being proactive" in adapting to "the international trend of reducing carbon emissions", and building trust by "working with communities on their long-term sustainability".
There is a plan to "improve certainty as to where mining should not occur", and to "address community concerns about the impacts of coal mining".
Environmental groups even thanked Deputy Premier John Barilaro for being a Resources Minister who finally acknowledged global climate concerns.
But with NSW Minerals Council chief executive Stephen Galilee on one side, and his fellow Nationals MP Michael Johnsen on the other, Mr Barilaro is clearly siding with the coal industry and its 22,000 employees, rather than the environmental movement, or even his own government's target of zero-net-emissions for NSW by 2050.