<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/nov/11/fifty-year-extension-for-one-of-australias-biggest-co2-emitters-likely-after-wa-ditches-emissions-reduction-rules>
"The Western Australian Labor government appears all but certain to give one of
Australia’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters the green light to operate until
2070 after it announced it would abolish state emissions-reduction
requirements.
Scientists have warned the proposal to extend the life of the North West Shelf
gas processing plant on the Burrup Peninsula in the country’s remote north-west
is linked to the development of at least three major gas fields and could
ultimately result in billions of tonnes of climate pollution being released
into the atmosphere.
The WA Environment Protection Authority recommended in 2022 that the state
approve a 50-year extension for the plant, which is run by the oil and gas
company Woodside, as long as it progressively reduced its operating emissions.
It could do that by making cuts onsite or paying for carbon offsets.
More than 750 organisations and individuals lodged appeals against the
recommendation – a record for the state – citing its contribution to the
climate crisis and potential damage to Indigenous rock art. The WA appeals
convenor has been considering the objections since mid 2022.
But the WA government last month announced it would change rules so that the
EPA would no longer regulate emissions from development proposals that released
significant climate pollution.
The WA climate change minister, Reece Whitby, then wrote to people who lodged
appeals against the North West Shelf extension, giving them under 8 November to
respond.
Climate activists said the implicit message of the letter was that the state
government planned to effectively abandon the years-long EPA process
considering how to deal with emissions from the plant.
The Conservation Council of WA’s executive director, Jess Beckerling, said
total emissions from the extension of fossil fuel operations on the Burrup Hub
could reach 6bn tonnes once the gas was exported and burned overseas.
“The WA government has just stripped itself of the ability to effectively
regulate the impact of climate change from the biggest fossil fuel projects in
the country,” she said."
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
