<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/13/australias-biggest-contribution-to-climate-change-50-year-extension-woodside-burrup-fossil-fuels-lng-wa>
"One of Australia’s biggest fossil fuel developments is a step closer to having
its life extended for nearly 50 years after Western Australian officials
dismissed appeals arguing it should be stopped on climate science and cultural
grounds.
More than 750 organisations and individuals last year lodged objections to a WA
Environment Protection Authority (EPA) recommendation that oil and gas company
Woodside be allowed to operate its gas processing facility in the Pilbara until
2070.
Documents seen by
Guardian Australia show the EPA has largely dismissed the
appeals and repeated its recommendation that the North West Shelf liquified
natural gas (LNG) processing facility, on the Burrup peninsula, be given an
extended licence.
Scientists and activists said if the extension was allowed it could lead to the
opening of new gas fields, including the proposed Scarborough and Browse
reservoirs, to provide the gas to keep the processing plant running until late
this century.
Peter Newman, a professor of sustainability at Curtin University and author on
three major Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments, said
the greenhouse gas emissions released once all LNG processed at the extended
facility was shipped overseas and burned would “dwarf everything else” that
Australia was doing on the climate crisis.
Woodside’s estimate of the annual emissions from the project suggest about 4bn
of carbon dioxide equivalent could be released – equivalent to about 10 years
of Australia’s total carbon pollution.
“I’d say that this is not just Australia’s most important climate decision,
it’s as important as all the other ones put together,” Newman said.
“The world is going to look at this and say this is the biggest global
contribution to climate change in the history of Australia that is about to be
approved. Everything else we’re doing fades away in comparison.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
