“Western Australia is one of the windiest places in the world, and with our skilled workforce and export infrastructure, WA is perfectly placed to become a renewable energy superpower,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific Head of Climate and Energy Jess Panegyres said today.

“Today’s announcement from Minister Bowen marks a clear investment in WA’s clean energy future – it will deliver thousands of sustainable jobs in the clean energy sector and lower energy costs. 

“Western Australia is in the grips of the climate crisis, and so many of us are being crunched by rising costs of living. 

“It makes sense, both environmentally and economically, to invest in renewables and ensure a cleaner, safer future for West Australian communities. The overall environmental benefit of wind farms is a win for nature and our climate.

“We don’t need more polluting fossil fuels like gas for local energy or export revenue when we have all we need, right here and now, to provide West Australians with a sustainable future,” Ms Panegyres added.

—ENDS—

“Western Australia is one of the windiest places in the world, and with our skilled workforce and export infrastructure, WA is perfectly placed to become a renewable energy superpower,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific Head of Climate and Energy Jess Panegyres said today.

“Today’s announcement from Minister Bowen marks a clear investment in WA’s clean energy future – it will deliver thousands of sustainable jobs in the clean energy sector and lower energy costs.

“Western Australia is in the grips of the climate crisis, and so many of us are being crunched by rising costs of living.

“It makes sense, both environmentally and economically, to invest in renewables and ensure a cleaner, safer future for West Australian communities. The overall environmental benefit of wind farms is a win for nature and our climate.

“We don’t need more polluting fossil fuels like gas for local energy or export revenue when we have all we need, right here and now, to provide West Australians with a sustainable future,” Ms Panegyres added.

—ENDS—

Greenpeace Australia Pacific is a global independent campaigning organisation that uses peaceful protest and creative confrontation to expose environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.

For more information or to arrange an interview please contact Kimberley Bernard on 0407 581 404 or kbernard@greenpeace.org

The revelations follow questions to the offshore regulator NOPSEMA at Senate Estimates overnight.

Comments attributable to Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter:

“Companies with oil and gas rigs are required to have environmental management plans. These are a critical part of our regulatory framework and require developers to explain how their actions might impact our precious natural environment.

“Under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Environment) Regulations 2023 the plans must be revised every 5 years so that changes to these risks can be properly scrutinised.

“Greenpeace Australia Pacific is concerned to learn that Woodside is in breach of these important environmental laws.

“Woodside’s legacy of toxic spills, accidents, and leaving oil and gas infrastructure rusting in the ocean despite orders from Australian authorities, shows that the company can’t be trusted when it comes to protecting our environment.

“Woodside’s operations are continuing at three facilities despite their last environment plans being accepted over five years ago, and revised environment plans not having been submitted for consideration by NOPSEMA. These include:

• the Macedon operations which was due to have a revised environment plan submitted to NOPSEMA by about 15/10/2023;
• the Vincent Maersk Ngujima-Yin FPSO operations on which the environment plan was due to be submitted by about 28/11/2023; and
• the Pyrenees facility operations which was due to have a revised environment plan submitted by about 3/1/2024.

“NOPSEMA confirmed in Senate Estimates that it issued an informal extension to Woodside on these environment plans, but that doesn’t go far enough.

“Greenpeace Australia Pacific is now urging NOPSEMA to exercise its powers to issue a directions notice to Woodside to force compliance with the requirement to submit revised environment plans.

“Ahead of an expected decision from the Federal Environment Minister concerning Woodside Energy’s climate-wrecking Burrup Hub project – the most polluting fossil fuel project currently proposed in Australia – we urge the Minister to take note of these concerns.

“Federal Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, is reviewing Woodside’s plans to exploit the Browse gas field – a key part of the Burrup Hub project. This would require drilling up to 50 wells around Scott Reef, Australia’s largest stand-alone coral reef atoll and a vital habitat for pygmy blue whales and green sea turtles. The project would also require building a 900km-long pipeline through two marine parks.

“A decision to rule out Woodside’s Burrup Hub is a decision to save Scott Reef and prevent untold environmental harm.”

Greenpeace’s report into the potential risks of Woodside’s Burrup Hub project is here.

Images of the stunning, pristine Scott Reef are available for hi-res download here. Additional photos and materials can be made available on request.

—ENDS—

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast yet another heatwave for Perth with Friday and Saturday expected to reach a top of 41C.

“Heatwaves and extreme weather are linked to fossil fuel-driven climate change. We will only see more of these kinds of heatwaves and extreme weather if Woodside is allowed to develop massive new fossil fuel projects in WA,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific Head of Climate and Energy Jess Panegyres said today.

“Heatwaves put lives, livelihoods, and communities at risk. Soaring temperatures not only pose individual health dangers but also put entire ecosystems and communities at increased.

“Companies like Woodside are fanning the flames of climate change by pushing ahead with polluting fossil fuel projects.

“Global heating, caused mainly by the extraction and burning of coal, oil and gas, is driving the radical destabilisation of our climate.

“Woodside’s massive Burrup Hub project is far and away the most polluting fossil fuel proposal in Australia – it’s a disaster in the making for our environment and our climate. Extreme heat is just one of the devastating consequences that West Australians will suffer, should this project go ahead.”

Adopted in June 2023, the UN Oceans Treaty is the most significant multilateral environmental deal since the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and a vital tool to help reverse the ocean crisis. Australia joined dozens of other nations in signing the historic and legally-binding pact, but it must still be ratified by individual countries before it comes into effect.

The Treaty must enter in force by 2025 to keep the globally agreed target of protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030 within reach.

Palau’s ratification highlights Pacific nations’ continuing leadership on global ocean protection, and sends a strong signal for other countries, including Australia, to fast-track ratification and take action to deliver protected oceans sanctuaries where marine life can recover and thrive.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific senior campaigner Violette Snow said “The Global Oceans Treaty is a critical step forward in the fight to protect our oceans from the mounting threats of climate change, marine plastics and overfishing.”

“We congratulate Palau on becoming the first country to ratify the Global Oceans Treaty, a powerful tool to protect our oceans,” she said. 

“Australia’s leadership and cooperation with like-minded countries has seen a commitment to stronger protections for our oceans, but now the Australian government must back up words with action. 

“Lying between Australia and New Zealand, the Lord Howe Rise and South Tasman Sea have been identified as areas of ecological significance, but right now they’re under threat from harmful fishing practices.

“The race to protect our oceans is on. We urge Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to follow Palau’s announcement and act just as swiftly to ratify the Treaty, and to follow through on its conservation leadership on the global stage.”

Palau is the first nation to officially ratify the treaty, after Chile last week approved their treaty legislation with a unanimous vote in their senate. 

—ENDS—

Notes to editors

In September 2023, Greenpeace International published a report setting out the political process to deliver protection for the global oceans. The report, ‘30×30: From Global Ocean Treaty to Protection at Sea’ explores how cumulative pressures on the high seas are increasing, and quantifies for the first time the growing fishing activity in areas earmarked for protection, using data from Global Fishing Watch.

Images for media use can be found here

Seismic blasting uses underwater airguns to blast powerful sound waves towards the seabed to identify fossil fuel reservoirs beneath the ocean floor. It can seriously injure whales and potentially kill other marine life. A growing body of research indicates that this noise pollution can damage, sometimes permanently, the hearing of whales and fish, as well as kill important prey species like plankton. 

Woodside’s own acoustic modelling found that pygmy blue whales could be injured by the seismic blasting over 60km from the blasting vessel. The blasts are expected to run for weeks, with local wildlife being exposed to booms as loud as a jet plane every 5 seconds, 12 hours a day.

Seismic blasting is just the first part of Woodside’s monstrous Burrup Hub. The whole Burrup Hub will include drilling up to 80 gas wells off the Pilbara and Kimberley coast – posing a threat to wildlife at major biodiversity hotspots like Scott Reef. 

Woodside and its Burrup Hub is Australia’s biggest climate threat, belching out 6.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its proposed 50-year lifetime.

The Burrup Hub is so dirty that its climate pollution would be greater than the combined total of the next two largest fossil fuel projects: the Beetaloo Tamboran and the Peak Downs Extension.

Woodside’s seismic blasting is way too risky and it should never have been given the green light. But the fight isn’t over yet. With enough pressure, we can make sure the government pulls the plug on Woodside’s disastrous plans. You can help by signing the Woodside petition or emailing your local MP.

Millions of years ago, a massive barrier reef – as big as the Great Barrier Reef – stretched along the coast of what is now northern WA. Over time the reef retreated. Now all that remains is a series of isolated atolls Ashmore Reef, Seringapatam and Scott Reef, and the Rowley Shoals.

You might not have heard much about Scott Reef, but it’s a pretty special place. Scott Reef consists of two formations, North Scott Reef and horseshoe-shaped South Reef. This oceanic reef system includes a third formation – Seringapatam Reef – which is about 30km to the north east of Scott Reef.

We were lucky enough to visit the Scott Reef system in May 2023 when the Rainbow Warrior toured Western Australia. The waters surrounding the three reefs are teeming with life. There are at least 29 species of marine mammals; 41 species of birds; almost 1,000 species of fish; sharks, sea snakes, rays, sawfish and many more amazing and unique animals – some of which haven’t been found anywhere else. 

Scott Reef is a critical spot for endangered pygmy blue whales (EPBC Act). Each autumn, thousands of whales migrate up the coast of Western Australia, traveling from the cool waters of southern Australia to the tropics. In spring, they migrate south again, spending the summer in Tasmania, Victoria and southern Western Australia before swimming north again. 

The whales’ migration path takes them right past Scott Reef. Although we don’t know for sure, many whale experts believe that Scott Reef is an aquatic Driver Reviver – a place for pygmy blue whales (and other migratory species) to stop and feed before continuing their journey. 

Nestled in between North and South Scott Reef is Sandy Islet – a tiny spit of sand where up to a thousand endangered (IUCN; vulnerable – EPBC Act) green sea turtles lay their eggs every year. Adult sea turtles are migratory and swim up to thousands of kilometres to get here. 

Females nesting near Sandy Islet are highly dependent on the food-rich waters around Scott Reef to sustain them during this exhausting period. A few months later, the newly hatched green turtles make their way to the ocean and the cycle begins again.

Like all coral reefs, Scott Reef is threatened by rising sea levels and warming oceans caused by climate change. Yet it faces an additional threat: fossil fuel giant Woodside. Browse, Australia’s largest untapped conventional gas reserve, lies directly underneath Scott Reef. 

Woodside wants to drill up to 50 wells to develop Browse – and pump the gas buried deep under the reef hundreds of kilometres to shore to be processed and exported overseas.

Woodside’s dirty gas could be a disaster for Scott Reef and the wildlife that depends upon it. It would turn this pristine reef and surrounding waters into an industrial gas zone blighted by seismic blasting, gas flaring, drilling and pipelaying. 

The climate change produced by Woodside’s dirty gas would contribute to ocean warming, which causes coral bleaching and seriously harms marine life. And if one of Woodside’s wells suffered a blowout – well, the consequences of a worst-case spill here are unthinkable.

Thankfully, there’s still time to stop Woodside. Federal Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, will soon be reviewing Woodside’s plans. Contact your MP today and let them know that you want Scott Reef protected from Woodside and its dirty gas. 

P.S. It has come to our attention that previously Greenpeace has inadvertently used an image of an adjacent reef to depict Scott Reef. The correct image is used above (Image 1). Greenpeace apologises for any confusion caused.

If completed, the Burrup Hub would produce gas until 2070 – a full 20 years after Australia is meant to reach net zero emissions – and would emit 6.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime. The Browse Field – the most polluting part of the Burrup Hub – would see up to 50 gas wells drilled around Scott Reef off the coast of Western Australia, which is home to endangered pygmy blue whales and green turtles.

The protest comes as Woodside received approvals for its controversial seismic blasting off the coast of Western Australia, in endangered whale habitat and near the UNESCO-protected Ningaloo reef, just two months after a Federal Court threw out its previous approval.

Greenpeace is campaigning against fossil fuel giant Woodside as Australia’s biggest climate threat. It is responsible for the most polluting fossil fuel project proposed for Australia, the Burrup Hub gas project.

If completed, the Burrup Hub would produce gas until 2070 and would emit 6.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime. The Browse Field – the most polluting part of the Burrup Hub – would see up to 50 gas wells drilled around Scott Reef off the coast of Western Australia, which is home to endangered pygmy blue whales and green turtles.

Woodside received approvals for its controversial seismic blasting off the coast of Western Australia, in endangered whale habitat and near the UNESCO-protected Ningaloo reef, just two months after a Federal Court threw out its previous approval.

The four highly trained Greenpeace climbers began the ascent in the early hours of the morning, where they attached the banner in direct line of sight from the Woodside offices.

It comes as Woodside received approvals for its dangerous seismic blasting off the Pilbara coast, in endangered whale habitat and near the UNESCO-protected Ningaloo reef on Friday, just two months after a Federal Court threw out its previous approval.

“Fossil fuel giant Woodside and its monstrous Burrup Hub gas project are not only Australia’s biggest climate threat, but a huge threat to Australia’s precious whales and wildlife,” said David Ritter, Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s CEO.​​​​​​​

“Woodside is a double whammy of destruction, endangering whales and Australia’s transition away from fossil fuels. Woodside is driving Australia deeper and faster into the climate crisis with its massive fossil fuel expansion plans. We won’t stand for it. We are here to say enough is enough.

“Australians overwhelmingly want climate action – but fossil fuel giants like Woodside is standing in the way, pushing outrageous new gas projects that threaten our oceans and cook our climate.”

New emissions data released last week from Greenpeace revealed that Woodside’s Burrup Hub is Australia’s biggest climate threat, projected to emit 6.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its proposed 50-year lifetime, bigger than the combined total of the next two largest proposed fossil fuel projects in Australia.

The Browse field, the most polluting part of the Burrup Hub, would see up to 50 gas wells drilled around the pristine Scott Reef, which is home to endangered pygmy blue whales and green turtles.

The action comes on the thematic day of Energy and Industry and Just Transitions at the world’s biggest climate conference, COP28, in Dubai.

“The world’s annual climate conference is happening right now, where experts are calling time on fossil fuel companies like Woodside, saying they cannot keep trashing our climate with dirty new gas projects. We want clean, green jobs in Australia, not more dirty gas,” said Sophie McNeill, Greenpeace senior campaigner.

“The recent approval for Woodside’s seismic blasting proves the current laws and regulations are failing to protect our oceans and marine life from harmful new fossil fuel projects. The law needs to be significantly strengthened to protect our oceans for future generations.” ​​​​​​​

Joe Palmer, a Greenpeace Australia Pacific activist who climbed the crane, said: “I’ve taken this action today because Woodside is threatening our oceans and our climate. I’ve seen the precious reefs at risk from Woodside’s drilling off the west coast and endured bushfires on the east coast. Australia should be proud of our nature and we should be proud to call ourselves a green energy superpower, but Woodside wants to chuck our reputation in the bin.

“Australia is already facing unprecedented and unseasonal bushfires and heatwaves because of global heating, fuelled by the burning of fossil fuels at the hands of companies like Woodside.

“Woodside needs to listen to the science. It’s on the wrong side of history. That’s why we need to stop Woodside.”

Greenpeace is calling on the Federal Government to reject Woodside’s Burrup Hub Proposal.

—ENDS—

Photos and video of the protest will be uploaded here: https://media.greenpeace.org/Detail/27MZIFJFYDGP0

Contextual photos and b-roll available here: https://media.greenpeace.org/Detail/27MZIFJF7LD6B

The Burrup Hub will release over 6.1 billion tonnes of carbon emissions in its lifetime to 2070. You can find out more about Woodside’s proposed climate-wrecking gas plans here.

On September 28th 2023, Federal Court Justice Craig Colvin ruled Woodside’s environmental plan for the Scarborough part of the company’s Burrup Hub project was not legally approved and was therefore invalid. 

The challenge was bought by Mardudhunera woman Raelene Cooper, on the grounds that she had not been adequately consulted by Woodside. 

It meant the company could not carry out the seismic blasting until it resubmitted an environmental plan which was then to be approved by the regulator. 

A new seismic blasting approval was granted by the offshore regulator NOPSEMA yesterday and allows Woodside to start as early as today. 

Woodside plans to seismic blast for up to 80 days off the Pilbara coast to assess gas reserves for its Burrup Hub. 

New emissions data released last week from Greenpeace revealed that Woodside’s Burrup Hub is Australia’s biggest climate threat, belching out 6.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its proposed 50-year lifetime.

The new data shows that the predicted emissions from Woodside’s Burrup Hub are bigger than the combined total of the next two largest proposed fossil fuel projects in Australia: the Beetaloo Tamboran and the Peak Downs Extension.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific senior campaigner Sophie McNeill warned that Woodside faces escalating community backlash as it starts work on the Burrup Hub.

“Woodside now has the green light to seismic blast in whale habitat, close to an endangered pygmy blue whale migration superhighway and UNESCO-protected Ningaloo Reef. Seismic blasting can deafen whales, who use their sonar to find food – so a deaf whale is a dead whale.

“We are deeply concerned by the gas industry’s aggressive lobbying campaign to water down the environmental regulations that protect Australia’s oceans. We believe the current laws and regulations are failing to protect our oceans and marine life from harmful new fossil fuel projects. The law needs to be significantly strengthened to protect our oceans for future generations.

“Almost 380,000 people have told us they oppose Woodside’s Burrup Hub, and the company can kiss its reputation goodbye if it pushes ahead with harming Western Australia’s wildlife.

“Woodside’s Burrup Hub is a disaster for WA nature and the climate. We will keep opposing this project and ensure the world is watching Woodside’s wanton destruction of our environment.”

Seismic blasting uses underwater airguns to blast powerful sound waves towards the seabed to identify fossil fuel reservoirs beneath the ocean floor. It can seriously injure whales and potentially kill other marine life. A growing body of research indicates that this noise pollution can damage, sometimes permanently, the hearing of whales and fish, as well as kill important prey species like plankton. 

—ENDS—

The Burrup Hub will release over 6.1 billion tonnes of carbon emissions in its lifetime to 2070. You can find out more about Woodside’s proposed climate-wrecking gas plans here.

The new data from Greenpeace shows that the predicted emissions from Woodside’s Burrup Hub are far greater than all other proposed fossil fuel projects currently undergoing federal environmental approvals.

The Burrup Hub’s emissions are bigger than the combined total of the next two largest proposed fossil fuel projects in Australia: the Beetaloo Tamboran and the Peak Downs Extension.

The data comes as Western Australian experts and campaigners join today’s roundtable discussion on the Burrup Hub hosted by West Australian MPs Kate Chaney and Josh Wilson, including the Conservation Council of WA, Environs Kimberley, Doctors for the Environment WA and Greenpeace.

The delegation will highlight the staggering climate threat of Woodside’s Burrup Hub, alongside evidence of the devastating nature impacts.

The Browse field, the most polluting part of the Burrup Hub, would see up to 50 gas wells drilled around the stunning Scott Reef, which is home to endangered pygmy blue whales and green turtles.

*Graph verified by Greenpeace, emissions data sourced from Sunrise, Climate Analytics and Greenpeace.

Jess Panegyres, Head of Clean Energy Transition at Greenpeace Australia Pacific said:

“This data proves that Woodside’s massive Burrup Hub project is far and away the most polluting fossil fuel proposal in Australia – it’s a disaster in the making for our environment and our climate.

“We know that Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek will soon decide whether to let Woodside develop the most polluting parts of the Burrup Hub – Browse, and the Northwest Shelf extension.

“Browse, part of the Burrup Hub, would see gas wells drilled near the stunning Scott Reef, in a Biologically Important Area for endangered pygmy blue whales and turtles. We are asking Minister Plibersek to protect Scott Reef and the endangered species that call it home from Woodside’s dangerous project.

“In the last few weeks we’ve seen Woodside pressuring the government to weaken federal environment laws to make it quicker and easier for Woodside to start seismic testing for the Burrup Hub.

“Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill knows that across Australia communities are increasingly pushing back against new fossil fuel projects, so is trying to rush this through as fast as she can – despite this project’s enormous environmental harm.”

Anna Chapman, Fossil Fuels Program Manager, Conservation Council of Western Australia said:

“Off Australia’s Kimberley coastline, the ecologically vital Scott Reef, the country’s largest standalone coral reef, faces severe threats from Woodside’s Browse to North West Shelf gas project. This venture, part of the controversial Burrup Hub, plans to extract gas from directly beneath the reef.

“The delicate ecosystem of Scott Reef, already endangered by climate change, confronts further risks, including seismic blasting, and the potential for a catastrophic gas well blowout if Woodside’s project proceeds.

“This is a crucial climate and environmental decision for Australia. Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and State Environment Minister Reece Whitby must reject these proposals.”

Dr Richard Yin, Deputy Chair Doctors for the Environment Australia said:

“Climate care is health care. If the Burrup Hub project proceeds, emissions from the project will fuel further devastating heatwaves and bushfires such as those that Perth has recently experienced which has threatened homes and lives.

“Across our state, from floods and extreme heat in the north, through to droughts and bushfires in the south, we are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. For the sake of our children and their future health, the Burrup Hub project must not proceed.”

Martin Pritchard, Director of Strategy, Environs Kimberley said:

“Communities in the Kimberley’s Fitzroy Valley were devastated by the biggest recorded floods in Western Australia’s history earlier this year and what the science tells us is that opening new oil and gas fields is going to lead to these catastrophic events happening much more often.

“If fossil fuel proposals like Woodside’s Browse Basin gas project at Scott Reef are approved then future temperature projections show us that the Kimberley will be unliveable by the end of this century because it won’t be possible to live a healthy life here, it will be too hot.

“Risking Scott Reef and the Kimberley coast to oil and gas pollution is strongly opposed by the community and a spill there would devastate the globally significant marine hotspot and multi-million dollar tourism industry.”

CONTACT: 

Dylan Quinnell 0450 668 350

Kimberley Bernard (in Canberra on the day) 0407 581 404

Event details:

PHOTO OPP: 8.50AM-9.15AM, PARLIAMENT HOUSE LAWN.

Campaigners, experts and politicians on the lawns of parliament and banners and signs.

• Kate Chaney MP, independent member for Curtin
• Josh Wilson MP, Labor member for Fremantle
• Monique Ryan, independent member for Kooyong
• Graham Perret, Labor member for Moreton
• Zoe Daniels, independent member for Goldstein
• Anna Chapman, Fossil Fuels Program Manager, Conservation Council of WA (CCWA)
• Jess Panegyres, Head of Clean Energy Transition, Greenpeace
• Sophie McNeill, Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace
• Dr. Richard Yin, Doctors for The Environment WA
• Martin Pritchard, Director of Strategy, Environs Kimberley

ROUNDTABLE: 10AM PARLIAMENT HOUSE, 1R4

Hosted by Kate Chaney MP, independent member for Curtin and Josh Wilson MP, Labor member for Fremantle, featuring:

• Alex Hillman, Lead Analyst, Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR)
• Anna Chapman, Fossil Fuels Program Manager, Conservation Council of WA (CCWA)
• Jess Panegyres, Head of Clean Energy Transition, Greenpeace
• Dr. Richard Yin, Doctors for The Environment WA
• Martin Pritchard, Director of Strategy, Environs Kimberley
• Sophie McNeill, Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace will be moderating the event

NOTES:

Images and footage of the Scott Reef where Woodside is proposing to drill for gas available here

Images and footage of Woodside infrastructure available here.

Images and footage of the photo opp outside Parliament House will be available on Monday from 10.30am.