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.

“The $700-million dollar funding announced today by the Cook government in WA’s main electricity network is a fantastic investment that will help unlock the state’s ability to connect large-scale renewable energy generation to the grid.

“Similarly, the joint $19-million funding partnership between the Albanese and Cook Governments to help communities in the Kimberley install rooftop solar is a really welcome and helpful initiative.

“I agree with Premier Cook that WA can be a global clean energy leader and can help the world tackle climate change.

“But I strongly disagree with the Premier’s view that gas expansion is good. CSIRO has warned us that pushing gas into Asia could displace renewables.

“The IEA has warned that no new gas projects are needed to limit global warming to 1.5.

“The reality is that expanding WA’s gas exports will only keep our neighbours hooked on fossil fuels for decades to come, will delay their transitions and will contribute to devastating climate impacts for communities in WA and across Asia.

“I invite the Premier to spend less time listening to Meg O’Neill at Woodside and pay more attention to what the young school strikers outside the summit had to say.”

—ENDS—

About 250 people from the community and environmental groups turned out in Perth to voice their concern for Western Australia’s ocean and marine life at risk from Woodside’s work on its Burrup Hub project.

Just this month, Woodside began dredging the seabed in endangered turtle habitat, was responsible for a whale calf strike in the Port of Dampier, and will soon commence seismic blasting in endangered whale habitat.

The vigil was organised by Greenpeace Australia Pacific and the Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) and is supported by the Wilderness Society, XR Grandparents Perth, Doctors for The Environment, 350 Perth, the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, School Strike For Climate and Australian Youth Climate Coalition WA.

About 250 people from the community and environmental groups turned out in Perth for a candlelit vigil to voice their concern for Western Australia’s ocean and marine life at risk from Woodside’s work on its climate-wrecking Burrup Hub project.

Just this month, Woodside began dredging in endangered turtle habitat, was responsible for a whale calf strike in the Port of Dampier, and will soon commence seismic blasting in endangered whale habitat.  

Greenpeace senior campaigner Sophie McNeill said Woodside can’t bury its head in the sand and hide from community concerns any longer.

“Woodside proclaims to serve our community, but Perth has been clear: we don’t want Woodside’s climate and future-wrecking gas. If Woodside cared about Australians, it would be listening to the concerns of the hundreds who have shown up this evening,” she said.

“Woodside is putting our oceans and wildlife at risk with its seismic blasting plans. Western Australians have made their voices heard: we want whales, not Woodside. Seismic blasting can deafen whales, who use their sonar to find food – so a deaf whale is a dead whale.”

At least a dozen police monitored community attendees who peacefully held candles, played instruments, or displayed signs.

It comes after activists were slapped with heavy-handed restraining orders following a peaceful action at Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill’s home earlier this month. 

The Perth vigil was one of three against Woodside, parallel to events in Margaret River and Karratha. 

The Perth vigil was organised by Greenpeace Australia Pacific and the Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) and was supported by the Wilderness Society, XR Grandparents Perth, Doctors for The Environment, 350 Perth, the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, School Strike For Climate and Australian Youth Climate Coalition WA. 

—ENDS—

Images of the event can be found here.

It is also a question that deserves a clear answer, so here it goes: people in WA and around the world are increasingly focussed on Woodside because of the huge threat it poses to WA’s oceans and wildlife, and to our global climate. 

There is mounting disgust at the impunity with which Woodside is being allowed to proceed with its destructive plans. As Tim Winton has said “we can’t keep averting our gaze and pretending that this isn’t happening”. 

Just last week, Woodside got the green light from the regulator to start seismic blasting off WA’s north-west coast. Right now, Woodside’s blasting ship is headed toward WA’s coastline. Soon, there will be underwater sonic cannons exploding in the habitat of endangered whales. 

As the shocking recent footage of beaching pilot whales at Cheynes Beach showed, cetaceans are deeply sensitive to changes in their environment. Seismic blasting is incredibly loud and can damage the hearing of whales, leaving the creatures unable to navigate, communicate or forage for food. A deaf whale is a dead whale.

And it is not only the whales. Some of the most incredible and pristine places in our oceans – jewels like Scott Reef, Rowley Shoals, Mermaid Sound and even the world-famous Ningaloo Reef – are all at risk. 

Woodside wants to run pipelines and drill for gas on the fringes of some of Australia’s most intact coral reefs. Whether or not you’re an environmentalist, no one can deny the value of the billions of dollars these fishing, diving, and tourism hotspots bring to the WA economy every year. All that could be lost because of Woodside’s corporate greed.

Then there’s the straight out climate impacts. We’ve already seen our state and country burn, flood, and crack under unprecedented weather extremes, supercharged by climate change that is driven by the burning of coal, oil, and gas. It’s the same confronting story the world over. 

Not only is Woodside perpetuating harm, it’s also stopping progress on solutions. 

For instance, modelling commissioned by Woodside from the CSIRO demonstrated that Woodside’s gas exports risked crowding out the growth of renewable energy in Asia – this was a report Woodside tried to suppress, but journalists uncovered through freedom of information requests. 

Woodside has also made claims about the local business benefits for its gas, which are baseless. Most of the gas from Scarborough and Browse will be exported so it won’t have a significant impact on the Australian grid. 

And by attempting to lock in decades of future gas extraction, Woodside is crowding out clean energy, making it difficult for governments and businesses to invest in renewable infrastructure and supply. This makes it more expensive for polluting-but-essential industries like steel and mining to switch to clean energy, and means that West Australians get left behind as other nations take the prize share of jobs and opportunities from the global shift to clean, low-emissions energy and resources. 

This is the context in which Woodside is pushing ahead with the Burrup Hub, which involves drilling multiple wells across two huge massive offshore gas fields and extending the operations of gas infrastructure until 2070. 

Woodside knows full well that if it goes ahead, the Burrup Hub will be Australia’s dirtiest fossil fuel project, producing the equivalent of more than 12 times Australia’s annual domestic climate pollution. But Woodside apparently doesn’t care, so long as it can deliver short-term profits to shareholders.

Going back to the Premier’s question – which he asked in the context of some protestors turning up outside Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill’s house last week – it’s no wonder that so many people are obsessed with stopping Woodside. 

And it is a shame that the protestors became the story – rather than that Woodside had been given the green light to blast the ocean.

The quiet frustration is growing, amongst ordinary people who are worried about the future and are fed up with Woodside being allowed to chuck a spanner in the works.

There is a rising tide of determination that the state’s future can be clean, safe, and prosperous – powered by renewable energy. The real obsession is with building that better future; which is why so many West Australians are now determined to stop Woodside. You can join them.

Tell Woodside it’s time to walk away from its toxic gas project.

David Ritter is the CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific

Woodside CEO Meg’O’Neill repeatedly returned to references to a 2018 IPCC report when questioned on the company’s strategy to align with the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees or below.

“Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill is once again misleading investors about Woodside’s climate strategy, relying on old data from a 2018 IPCC report that has since been superseded. Woodside is ignoring the latest climate science and reports from the International Energy Agency, which clearly state that there can be no new gas fields if the world is to stay within 1.5 degrees of warming.

“The 2018 IPCC report that Woodside is leaning on so heavily to justify its claims assumes extraordinarily high amounts of carbon capture and storage – 220 times above what the world currently successfully captures and stores. This is just not feasible in any way. The IPCC has since updated its carbon capture and storage assumptions to much lower levels, still at a very high cost to deploy.

“Woodside itself has no plans for carbon capture and storage for the gas fields it plans at Scarborough and Browse, and the spectacular failure of CCS at Chevron’s Gorgon plant reveals the folly of relying on this experimental technology.”

Investors entering the AGM this morning were confronted by a sombre visual statement from Greenpeace Australia Pacific activists holding signs depicting recent devastating Australian climate impacts including record-breaking bushfires and floods, with the line “Climate change, sponsored by Woodside.”

Woodside faced a barrage of climate questions during a gruelling AGM, which saw a significant shareholder vote of 35% against the re-election of director Ian McFarlane.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter, who attended the AGM, said that Woodside failed to answer crucial questions about the climate impact of its gas expansion plans for the Burrup Hub.

“Woodside Chair Richard Goyder offered the Greenpeace team and I a meeting today, and I look forward to the opportunity to once again ask Woodside’s leaders the crucial questions on climate that they bluffed their way through at today’s AGM. Woodside is Western Australia’s largest energy company and should be leading the state’s renewable transition. But what was on offer today was the same tired, misleading nonsense, relying on outdated climate data and fantasy projections on future gas use that are completely at odds with current and credible science and modelling.”

—ENDS—

Notes to editors

Images from the Greenpeace Australia Pacific protest outside Woodside’s AGM can be found on the following link: https://media.greenpeace.org/Detail/27MZIFJLW7N62

Following the Federal Government’s announcement of domestic gas price caps to alleviate the energy crisis, Woodside’s CEO Meg O’Neill has launched an extraordinary tirade, claiming that the intervention will damage gas investments.

Jess Panegyres, Head of Clean Transitions at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said that Woodside’s response to price caps betrays how out of touch the company is with the serious financial problems gas prices are causing for many Australians.

“It’s insulting that Meg O’Neill, a CEO on a multi-million dollar salary, thinks she can cry poor about measures to curtail rampant gas industry price gouging while Australians face energy poverty as a result of soaring gas prices,” she said.

“Woodside is making record profits off the back of the Ukraine war while our power bills skyrocket. The enormous tantrum being thrown by the gas industry in response to the Federal Government’s sensible price caps demonstrate very clearly that they’re motivated by greed, not Australia’s national interests.

“Western Australia, a state Meg O’Neill should be deeply familiar with, already has a system of price caps and a domestic gas reservation policy – and it doesn’t seem to have killed the gas industry dead. The national gas industry should be able to survive proper regulation, scrutiny and a sensible pricing structure. If it can’t, it raises significant questions about whether this is a viable industry for Australia at all.

“To add injury to insult, Woodside’s enormous profits are coming at the expense of the climate. Gas is a fossil fuel that is driving dangerous climate change, and it’s already costing Australians. The Insurance Council of Australia has calculated that the damage from this year’s climate-driven flooding alone will cost the country $5.56 billion, and that’s only set to increase unless we urgently reduce emissions. There’s no place for Woodside’s profiteering and dangerous gas expansion plans if we want a safer climate future.”

—ENDS—

The dismissal upholds an earlier ruling that the environmental approval for Santos’ Barossa  offshore gas project was invalid, with Traditional Owners successfully arguing that National Offshore Petroleum and Safety Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) failed to ensure they were properly consulted about the project’s potential risks to their marine environment and spiritual values.

Jess Panegyres, Head of Clean Transitions at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said that the Tiwi Islanders’ victory has significant implications for Woodside, and sends a clear signal that gas producers can’t get away with poor environmental and community consultation.

“This is a huge victory for Munupi clan leader Dennis Murphy Tipakalippa and the Tiwi Islanders who have now beaten Santos twice in court. Traditional Owners and Custodians should have the final say over what happens on their land, not fossil fuel industries.

“This decision means gas and resources companies like Woodside must actually listen to the concerns of communities, and can no longer just ignore people who are saying things they don’t want to hear.”

Woodside is actively pursuing three environmental permits to enable its controversial Scarborough offshore gas project, including seeking approval to conduct seismic blasting that would impact endangered whale habitats and migration routes. Earlier this week, Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill acknowledged that they had been required to consult more widely as a result of the Tiwi Islanders’ legal case.

—ENDS—

Woodside was assailed with a barrage of questions from shareholders, environmental groups and concerned community members at its chaotic AGM. The gas company, which is seeking to vastly increase its fossil fuel production in coming years, saw almost half of its shareholders  vote against its climate report.

David Ritter, CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific said that Woodside’s leadership team displayed both breathtaking arrogance and a fundamental misunderstanding of the global energy transition.

“Woodside chair Richard Goyder seems to think his company, one of the world’s biggest fossil fuel producers, knows more about keeping the world’s climate trajectory under 1.5 degrees of warming than the United Nations,” he said.

“Woodside’s primary concern is rushing through expansion of the Burrup Hub, the most climate-polluting project currently proposed in Australia, and they’re prepared to bulldoze anyone in their way, disregarding shareholder and community concern as well as the expertise of the world’s leading climate and investment experts.”

“When grilled on their flimsy climate plan, Woodside’s leaders had no legitimate answers, because their business model rests solely on the aggressive expansion of fossil fuels. Woodside’s arrogant strategy is to deflect and dismiss anyone who questions them, even denigrating the expertise of the Climate 100, one of the world’s leading investment institutions.”

“Woodside chief Meg O’Neill went so far as to disregard the findings of a CSIRO report Woodside itself commissioned, finding that Woodside’s gas exports could delay the transition to renewables in Asia, at a time when the imperative to decarbonise has never been higher. This company seems to think it can flout climate science and deep community anxiety in pursuit of profit.”

At the Annual General Meeting held in Perth today, shareholders voted in favour of Woodside merging with petroleum behemoth BHP, making the merged entity one of the top ten fossil fuel producers in the world. 

However, Woodside’s leadership dodged questions from the Australian Shareholders Association about timing of another advisory vote on its climate plan with information on the newly merged entity. The BHP merger will see shareholders saddled with $6.7 billion worth of decommissioning costs for fossil fuel infrastructure, according to a report Woodside released ahead of its London Stock Exchange listing.

—ENDS—

Read Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s Investor Briefing on Woodside

Temperatures in the Pilbara, in the north of Western Australia, soared to a record-breaking 50.7˚C earlier this month. Since then, Woodside and their CEO Meg O’Neill have been ruffling together the financiers and construction partners to begin work on Scarborough: a deep sea gas drilling project that would pump gas back to those same shores, and create more climate pollution than any other Australian fossil fuel project.

Here’s a look at what’s been happening:

Three of Australia’s biggest banks, NAB, ANZ and Westpac, supported a new loan to help bring a US company, Global Infrastructure Partners, on to the project. Community members have slammed the move, which would violate the banks’ own 2050 net zero carbon commitments.

What’s more, a new report released by the Australia Institute has uncovered that offshore gas in Western Australia generates little government revenue, as most gas is exported abroad. In fact, Woodside was found to pay no royalties on its Pluto LNG gas processing facility, which it seeks to expand with Scarborough — underscoring how Woodside is effectively subsidised to extract gas and wreck the climate.

A climate catastrophe brewing

Scarborough is forecast to spew emissions equivalent to 15 coal fired power stations, and lay 430 kilometres of pipeline through pristine whale habitat. The project ignores the International Energy Agency’s warnings that no new fossil fuel projects can go ahead if we’re to stay under 1.5˚C of global warming. Despite this, Woodside plans to pump out climate pollution for many years to come. Scarborough is just the first stage of the full Burrup Hub, Woodside’s planned gas mega-project. If this dangerous fossil-fuel development is completed, it will be operational until 2055 – well past the timeframe we need to phase out fossil fuels for a safer climate.

Woodside is trying to move fast – but we won’t let them. We can still stop construction if we raise the alarm. Share this post and let them know Australians choose #WhalesNotWoodside

You can also sign the petition to tell Woodside to walk away from Scarborough

Ningaloo Reef is among UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites, and one of only three located in Western Australia.

This classification itself highlights the importance of Ningaloo Reef in sustaining the planet’s ecosystem. But let’s take a dive into some of the natural wonders of this reef.

Whale Sharks

Probably the most well-known aspect of Ningaloo Reef, is the annual congregation of around 300-500 Whale Sharks each year. This event is the largest documented aggregation of Whale Sharks in the world! The gentle giants pose no threat to humans, and many tourism businesses arrange day trips for people to go swimming with the Whale Sharks from a safe distance.

Whale shark (Rhincodon typus) off the West Australian coast.

Coral spawning

This is the annual event that triggers the Whale Shark’s visit to the Reef. Roughly taking place over a week after the full moon in March and April, the coral spawning cycle is important to the regeneration of 300+ coral species and the reef as a whole. Krill and plankton are attracted by the coral spawning, and the Whale Sharks come to eat these micro-creatures.

Marine biodiversity 

Ningaloo Reef has an incredible spread of marine biodiversity. Along the 300 species of coral, there are 155 sponge species, over 700 species of reef fish, around 650 species of mollusc and 600 species of crustaceans, in addition to over 1,000 species of marine algae. In certain areas, the Reef homes an unusual variety of marine turtles, with roughly 10,000 nests laid along the coast every year!

Ningaloo is a site worth protecting, and as it is a World Heritage Site, it is subject to the Australian federal government’s Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 (or the EPBC Act). 

A number of Australian tourism businesses also rely on the preservation of Ningaloo Reef to earn a living. All the more reason why we can’t allow Woodside’s Scarborough gas project to devastate the Dampier Archipelago which resides close to Ningaloo Reef.

If you haven’t already, please sign our petition to stop Woodside’s dirty gas project, and send an email to Woodside’s CEO, Meg O’Neill and demand that Woodside abandon this reckless project.

As our Green Guardians, your support is crucial in the fight against Woodside! Thank you for helping us protect Australia’s unique environment.