In response to news that a Coalition government would approve a ‘bucket load’ of new gas projects, including Woodside’s NW Shelf extension, the Australian Conservation Foundation’s climate and energy program manager Gavan McFadzean said:
“Gas expansionism, as proposed by the opposition’s resources spokesperson, will lock in decades more climate pollution – the cause of the unnatural and costly disasters Australians are living through, from deadly flooding in Queensland to severe marine heatwaves in WA.
“Woodside’s North West Shelf expansion, one of the world’s biggest new climate wrecking fossil fuel projects, would emit 6 billion tonnes of carbon pollution to 2070 and acid rain which will erase the World Heritage-nominated 50,000-year-old petroglyphs at Murujuga.
“This announcement confirms the Coalition’s nuclear policy is in fact a gas expansion policy designed to hit the brakes on cheap, clean renewable energy.
“It will be welcomed by the gas industry, but will lock in higher prices for households.
“There is no gas shortage in Australia. Gas giants Woodside and Santos export almost all the gas they extract to maximise profits and returns to foreign shareholders, pushing up gas prices for Australians, who pay inflated export prices for Australian gas.
“For almost a decade gas corporates have sought to unwind environmental protections, raid the public purse and avoid paying tax to fund gas export projects to ship gas overseas.
“The Coalition’s energy plans will lock in high emissions, as confirmed by the Climate Change Authority this week, and high energy prices indefinitely – increasing cost-of-living pressures. It’s a nuclear fantasy on one hand and letting gas rip on the another.
“When politicians talk about ‘faster approvals’ it usually means cutting corners on protecting the environment.
“Removing environmental protection is not a pathway to cheaper energy, it’s a licence for gas companies to get away with poor practices that harm nature and climate – and can hurt workers and local communities.
“Fossil gas is the most expensive form of electricity in use in Australia. The cheapest form of electricity for Australians, according to the CSIRO and independent experts, is renewable energy – which already makes up around 40% of the east coast grid.”