The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has recommended approval of gas giant Woodside’s North West Shelf Project’s operation all the way through to the 2070s, which Greenpeace Australia Pacific warns will blow Australia’s emissions budget.

Jess Panegyres, Head of Clean Transitions at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, says that Woodside’s North West Shelf plans undermine Australia’s emissions reduction efforts and will fuel worsening climate change.

“The Western Australian EPA’s recommendation to approve long-term operation of Woodside’s North West Shelf project shows how fossil fuel companies can exploit our weak environmental laws in their own self interest. The North West Shelf proposal would see Woodside pump out climate-wrecking gas through to the 2070s. Massive gas expansion is inconsistent with the trajectory of gas phasedown recommended by the International Energy Agency and UN to safeguard our climate.”

“While the North West Shelf is a climate disaster in its own right, which without mitigation will produce around 4.3 billion tonnes of climate pollution, the EPA’s recommended approval also paves the way for an even more dangerous planned project, Woodside’s Browse gas field.”

“Both the United Nations and International Energy Agency have been very clear that there can be no new gas developments to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. But Woodside continues to aggressively expand its operations, even with the global gas market set to shrink as the world switches to cleaner, safer renewables. This dangerous company does not have Western Australia’s economic or environmental best interests at heart.”

Key information from the WA EPA recommendation:

  • Ongoing operation of the North West Shelf Project to enable long-term processing at the project facilities, up to 2070
  • The proponent estimates that the Extension Proposal’s scope 3 GHG emissions from the third-party consumption of LNG, LPG, Domgas and condensate, will be approximately 80.19 Mtpa of CO2-e based on currently available and quantifiable information (Woodside 2021b). 
  • With no mitigation, over the 50-year life of the Extension Proposal, total scope 1 GHG emissions are estimated to be up to 385 million tonnes (Mt) of CO2-e (Woodside 2021b).

—ENDS—