WA gas is ‘holding Australia back’ on climate action, conservation group tells Senate committee

WESTERN Australia’s lack of action to curb pollution from liquefied natural gas (LNG) is ‘directly undermining national emissions targets’ and the Paris Agreement, while costing taxpayers billions according to WA’s leading conservation group.

Appearing in front of the Senate Economics References Committee inquiry on Friday, the Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) director, Piers Verstegen, said the WA-based LNG sector was the fastest growing source of pollution in Australia, and the primary reason that Australia was unable to adopt a responsible science-based position on climate change.

“The oil and gas industry have made record profits for the last decade, but the vast majority of these profits have flowed to overseas shareholders, while Australian taxpayers pick up a multi-billion dollar bill for the pollution from this industry," Mr Verstegen told the committee.

“We conservatively estimate that the Australian taxpayer has forked out roughly $1.4 billion over the last five years, just to offset WA’s rising pollution from the LNG export industry.

“This is a giant back-door subsidy fuelling the world’s fastest growing pollution source. It should be an international scandal.”

Western Australia is the only state where carbon pollution has risen substantially since the 2005 baseline under the Paris Agreement. This increase has been driven by growth in LNG exports, and it is a primary factor preventing Australia from making meaningful progress on emissions.

“While protecting Australia’s fossil fuel exports has motivated Australia’s obstructionist position on the national stage, the lack of domestic action and refusal to adopt stronger targets can largely be put down to protectionism for the LNG industry," Mr Verstegen said.

“If Australia didn’t need to accommodate pollution growth from this industry it would be far easier to meet more ambitious targets.

“The LNG industry is holding our country back and our country is in turn holding the world back from greater ambition on climate change.

“The WA government approach to climate policy has been to shift the cost and liability of rising LNG emissions to other states. But no other state has agreed to this and nobody is talking about where the savings are going to come from in other states and other businesses to offset this pollution growth.

“Currently, the cost of this is being met by Australian taxpayers who are forking out billions of dollars through the Emissions Reduction Fund to offset growth in LNG pollution, while record LNG profits flow to overseas shareholders.”

Meanwhile, Woodside is pressing ahead with plans for its Scarborough LNG project in WA’s North West, which campaigners say will produce in excess of 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon pollution over its lifetime – equivalent to 15 coal-fired power stations. 

This is despite the recent IPCC report’s ‘code red’ warning and International Energy Agency analysis which showed any attempt to reach net zero emissions by 2050 would mean no new gas project approvals beyond 2021, the CCWA said.

This has led to questions over the long-term viability of fossil gas projects and whether the failure to transition to alternative energy sources – particularly in renewables – is costing Western Australian jobs and investment, according tot he CCWA.

Independent research from CCWA has demonstrated that "inaction on climate change in WA is holding back the creation of more than 200,000 jobs in industries like renewable energy, green metals and low carbon agriculture". CCWA said this was far more than the number of jobs created by the LNG industry.

“The political influence of companies like Woodside has stifled and held back economic activities which would create thousands of jobs and made WA’s economy far less competitive," Mr Verstegen said.

“Meanwhile, the LNG industry creates very few jobs itself. It is the smallest employer by sector in WA.

“In economic terms, the LNG industry is ripping us off, while at the same time undermining the conditions that support human habitation on this planet.”

The Inquiry into Australia’s oil and gas industry will submit its findings to the Senate later this year.

 

About the CCWA

The Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) is the state’s foremost non-profit, non-government conservation organisation representing more than 100 environmental organisations across Western Australia. 

 ccwa.org.au

 

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