Planned gas developments on Western Australia’s Burrup Hub led by Woodside Energy could result in twice as much greenhouse gas being emitted as any other Australian fossil fuel development up for approval, according to an analysis by environment groups.
The analysis led by Greenpeace estimated the Burrup Hub expansion could lead to 6.1bn tonnes of CO2 across the decades ahead if fully developed – roughly 13 times what Australia emits annually. Most of the emissions would be released when the gas was sold and burned overseas.
The scale of the development plans – including opening the proposed Scarborough and Browse gas fields and extending the life of Woodside Energy’s North West Shelf liquified natural gas (LNG) processing plant until 2070 – was the focus of a Monday meeting in Canberra between independent, Labor and Greens MPs and WA climate campaigners.
The roundtable discussion in federal parliament follows the WA government substantially increasing its rhetorical support for gas industry expansion.
The premier, Roger Cook, told an energy transition summit earlier this month more WA gas could lead to emissions increasing in the state in the short-term but that would be good for the planet as it would lead to a “dramatic reduction” in global emissions by displacing coal overseas. The claim has not been backed by evidence.
The proposed expansion has also been publicly backed by the federal government. The resources minister, Madeleine King, said the Browse gas field was “important to the future gas supply of Western Australia and our regional partners”.
Federal independent WA MP Kate Chaney, who co-hosted the roundtable with Labor backbencher Josh Wilson, said politicians should understand the “sheer scale” of what was planned on the Burrup Hub and what it meant for emissions.
“It really is pretty extraordinary,” she said. “It dwarfs anything else in this space and I struggle to see how we can reach our federal emissions reduction targets if it keeps expanding gas like this.”
Chaney said she was concerned WA’s strong support for gas expansion risked creating “stranded assets” – the International Energy Agency has forecast demand for coal, oil and gas could peak this decade – and that there would also be an opportunity cost if the state directed limited resources and equipment to fossil fuel developments at the expense of renewable energy and critical minerals.
She said the federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, should assess the full impact of the North West Shelf expansion given its national importance.
Wilson, the member for Fremantle, said he supported efforts “in the cause of environmental and climate protection”, especially when it raised awareness “about the precious and fragile treasures” in WA.
“As we work to strengthen Australia’s protective frameworks we should lean our weight towards protective outcomes because we know that up to now the balance in decision-making has too often been struck against the environment and against Aboriginal heritage,” he said.
The proposed North West Shelf processing facility life extension sits with the WA appeals convenor, which will make a recommendation to the state government. The WA Environment Protection Authority last year recommended it be approved.
The project also needs federal approval. The federal environment said it had paused its assessment of the North West Shelf project extension until it received further information from the proponent.
That consideration is running alongside calls from gas industry leaders for legal changes to allow faster approval of offshore gas developments, and to reduce the possibility of successful court challenges. Work on Woodside’s $16.5bn Scarborough gas field and Santos’ $6bn Barossa gas development has been delayed after the federal court found the companies had not properly consulted with traditional owners.
King told the WA summit earlier this month she understood the gas industry’s concerns and the government was working “to address these issues”, but the sector must “do better” on consultation and should acknowledge it had also repeatedly delayed major investment decisions.
She said if Australia stopped supplying LNG to its neighbours it did not necessarily mean that they would stop using it.
